A Study on Factors Mfecting Safety Accidents among Elderly People

노인 안전사고에 영향을 미치는 요인 조사연구

The nation is turning into aging society, and safety accidents among elderly people are on the rise. When death roll caused by safety accidents was investigated, senior citizens who died from safety accidents outnumbered the other age groups who died for the same reason. The most common cause of death was traffic accidents, followed by suicide and a hurt from a fall, and Korea rated first among OECD member nations in death roll by traffic accidents. Aging brings a lot of physical changes to elderly people, and they are often likely to be involved in accidents such as a hurt from a fall due to degenerated sensory organs like hearing and eyesight and deteriorated motor skills. Unsafe social facilities also have them face a lot of accidents, including fracture and death, and such accidents take place even at home that is usually considered safe, or are triggered by things of daily use. As a result of comparing every age group's death roll by safety accidents, the number of senior citizens who died from safety accidents was far higher than that of the other age groups who died for the same reason in every accident field. In aging society, a sharp increase in the elderly population and ensuing safety accidents are expected to pose a serious threat to national economy, and diverse efforts should be put into tacking this problem. For instance, safety education should be provided to people in general including senior citizens on a regular basis, and more safety facilities should be prepared. Besides, safety equipment should be developed.