Long Term Care Needs of Holocaust Survivors

Principal Investigator: Allen Glicksman
Co-Principal Investigator: Kimberly Van Haitsma
Period: May 1999 - December 2003
Funded by: The Fan Fox and Leslie Samuels Foundation

Abstract: The major purpose of this research was to identify and document the special needs of Holocaust survivors in LTC. The four specific objectives included: 1) the identification of special needs of LTC service users who are holocaust survivors (including home based and institutional based LTC); 2) the comparison of survivors using LTC services with a cross-section of older Jewish persons of similar socio-demographic status who did not experience the Holocaust and who are also using LTC services; 3) the development of a model for working with victims of similar traumas who are receiving long term care. The situation facing older Holocaust survivors also faces survivors of other traumatic events such as Rwanda, Bosnia, Cambodia and others whose refugees have reached American shores; and 4) a first attempt at developing practice guidelines for professionals working with elderly victims of the trauma in LTC settings.