• Informatization Policy
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.55-71
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• 2020

Digital accessibility of the middle-aged and elderly has been increasing at a faster pace than other groups such as the handicapped and adolescents. However, studies related to the digital accessibility of middle and older adults are scarce. In order to examine variables affecting accessibility to digital information of the middle-aged and elderly people, this study researches the impacts of sociodemographic, physical and mental health and social activity variables on the accessibility of digital information. We analyzed data of 1,661 people between the ages of 55 and 84 from the 2018 Status Survey on Digital Divide conducted by the National Information Society Agency. The hierarchical multiple regression analysis shows the higher education, economic, and life satisfaction levels are, the higher digital accessibility levels of both male and female are. The result of the analysis also shows that the aged male has a higher accessibility level when he does not live alone; meanwhile, the aged female has higher digital capability as her age is lower, which describes that there are differences between gender. We expect the result of this study to be used as an important reference to understand factors related to digital accessibility level and active intervention for improving digital accessibility of the middle-aged and elderly male and female.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.23-34
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the access level of digital information service and life satisfaction level of the middle and high-aged people and to analyze the Sequential Mediation Effects on online social engagement and online network activities. To this end, we analyzed the effects of multiple mediations on 1,491 seniors who responded to the 2018 digital information gap survey. The results of the study are as follows: First, this study confirmed that there is a statistically significant relationship between the access levels of digital information service and the life satisfaction. Second, the results showed that impact of digital information access level on life satisfaction among high-aged people was higher when they were engaged in both online social activities and online networking, rather than only involved in online social activities. Overall, this study comprehensively examined the relationship among the level of digital information access, life satisfaction, online social engagement, and online networking, which is meaningful in that it can be used as data for reconsideration of the digital information services and life satisfaction of the high-aged people.

• 한국노년학
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.611-632
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• 2016

Solutions for elderly health issues need to be found that take into account not only a medical perspective, but also interactions with social conditions such as socioeconomic status. With this in mind, this study aims to understand how socioeconomic status leads to health inequalities for the elderly. Specifically, this study investigates the mediating effects of socioeconomic status(income and education levels), health activities as an intermediary of the three dimensions of physical health(medical health, functional health, subjective health), accessibility of medical facilities, social participation, and social network. To test the research model, a secondary data analysis was conducted on the 2014 National Survey of Senior Citizens. The participants of the study were 10,451 elderly men and women aged 65 and above. To test the mediated model, hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted following the procedures suggested by Baron and Kenny(1986). In addition, a Sobel test was conducted to test the mediated model's significance. According to the analysis, the effects of income and educational levels on the health of the elderly were not the same. Additionally, different results were found depending on health dimensions. However, the overall direction of the results showed that the socioeconomic status of the elderly creates health disparities, and health behaviors, accessibility of medical facilities, social participation, and social network had significant mediation effects between socioeconomic status and physical health. Study findings especially worth noting are as follows: education was shown to have a stronger effect on health than income; effects of social integration factors such as social participation were highlighted; and significant mediating effects on the accessibility of medical facilities remained even after taking residential area into account. Results of this study shed light on health inequality mechanisms due to socioeconomic conditions and the need to find alternatives to alleviate these problems.

• 한국사회정책
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.125-150
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• 2016

This study was carried out to empirically analyze the hypothesis that the impact of the welfare status on the welfare attitudes is moderated by each individual's level of confidence in government. To do this, this study focused on the welfare status known as the significant predictors of welfare attitudes and measured the welfare status as a gap between 'welfare contribute' and 'welfare benefit' in a single dimension, which is defined as 'material sacrifice'. Also, this study examined the main effect of material sacrifice and trust in government on the welfare attitudes and moderating effect of trust in government on relationship between material sacrifice and welfare attitudes. This study was performed with secondary data from 8th year of "2013 Korea Welfare Panel Study". Hypothesis of this study were verified using hierarchical multiple regression analysis. The major findings of this study are summarized as follow. 'Material sacrifice' was found to be negatively associated with the welfare attitudes. However, as the confidence in which social policies will be carried out competently by government increases, it was confirmed that the negative effect of material sacrifice on the welfare attitudes was moderated. It suggests that self-material interests associated with welfare could be moderated by beliefs and expectations about the government's functions, which means that expanding the reliance on the social policy is an important task in order to lead a social consensus for the welfare expansion.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.156-162
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• 2024

Background: This study aimed to explore the relationship between frailty and Area Deprivation Index (ADI) among older adults in Korea. Methods: We used data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2014 to 2019, focusing on individuals aged 65 years and older. Frailty was assessed using Fried phenotype of frailty criteria. A multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to assess the relationship between frailty and ADI adjusted for all covariates. Results: Among 9,825 older adults, those who lived in an area with a high ADI had a 1.2-fold higher risk of frailty compared to those who lived in an area with a low ADI (odds ratio [OR], 1.23; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.09-1.37). Particularly, married individuals living in areas with a high ADI had an approximately 1.4-fold higher risk of frailty compared to those living in areas with a low ADI (OR, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.16-1.57). Conclusion: This study reveal a significant relationship between frailty and the ADI among older adults. In particular, married individuals who live in areas with a high ADI were found more vulnerable to frailty than those who live in areas with a low ADI. Therefore, policy intervention should be implemented to reduce health inequalities among older people, especially those living in the most deprived areas groups.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.33-50
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• 2022

While the number of female entrepreneurs has been increasing, and female entrepreneurship has been increasingly perceived as a driving force of sustainable economic development, there is a lack of studies of female entrepreneurship, particularly in the non-Western regions. This study aims to explore current levels of entrepreneurial competences of female college students in four Asian countries (i.e., Indonesia, Korea, Philippines, and Vietnam), differences in the competences between countries, and factors affecting their entrepreneurial competences. Using online surveys, the present study collected data from 516 female Asian college students and examined their entrepreneurial competences in six dimensions-entrepreneurship, sensibility, business management, relationship management, strategic management, and multi-tasking. This study also investigated effects of four variables (i.e., entrepreneurship course taking experiences, on-campus entrepreneurship experiences, off-campus entrepreneurship experiences, and entrepreneurial intentions) on the six aspects of entrepreneurial competences. Data analysis reveals that female Asian college students as a whole group possess quite high levels of entrepreneurial competences while the Filipino students show the biggest competence in all the six dimensions measured. As regards affecting factors, this study finds that, in the total sample, regression equations are significant in all the six dimensions of entrepreneurial competences. On-campus experiences have significantly positive effects on those six dimensions while course taking experiences and entrepreneurial intentions positively affect three different dimensions each. However, out-of-campus experiences turn out to be negative though their effects are insignificant. Meanwhile, in individual samples, different factors affect different dimensions of entrepreneurial competences. Based on these findings, the present study suggests some actions for promoting female entrepreneurship and for conducting future studies.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.78-86
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• 2024

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the specialty hospital system by comparing the medical use of inpatients who had artificial joint replacement surgery in specialty hospitals and non-specialty hospitals. Methods: This study utilized 2021-2022 healthcare benefit claims data provided by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. The dependent variable is inpatient medical use which is measured in terms of charges per case and length of stay. The independent variable was whether the hospital was designated as a specialty hospital, and the control variables were patient-level variables (age, gender, insurer type, surgery type, and Charlson comorbidity index) and medical institution-level variables (establishment type, classification, location, number of orthopedic surgeons, and number of nurses). Results: The results of the multiple regression analysis between charges per case and whether a hospital is designated as a specialty hospital showed a statistically significant negative relationship between charges per case and whether a hospital is designated as a specialty hospital. This suggests a significant low in charges per case when a hospital is designated as a specialty hospital compared to a non-specialty hospital, indicating that there is a difference in medical use outcomes between specialty hospitals and non-specialty hospitals inpatients. Conclusion: The practical implications of this study are as follows. First, the criteria for designating specialty hospitals should be alleviated. In our study, the results show that specialty hospitals have significantly lower per-case costs than non-specialty hospitals. Despite the cost-effectiveness of specialty hospitals, the high barriers to be designated for specialty hospitals have gathered the specialty hospitals in metropolitan and major cities. To address the regional imbalance of specialty hospitals, it is believed that ease the criteria for designating specialty hospitals in non-metropolitan areas, such as introducing "semi-specialty hospitals (tentative name)," will lead to a reduction in health disparities between regions and reduce medical costs. Second, it is necessary to determine the appropriateness of the size of hospitals' medical staff. The study found that the number of orthopedic surgeons and nurses varied in charges per case. Therefore, it is believed that appropriately allocating hospital medical staff can maximize the cost-effectiveness of medical services and ultimately reduce medical costs.