• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.145-154
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• 2017

Objectives: This study used data of urban and rural elderly living alone to compare the general characteristics of the elderly who have had suicidal ideation, and to investigate the suicidal ideation of urban-rural elderly with varying degrees of emotional support status, health status, and health behavior. Methods and materials: The research participants included 2,750 elderly aged 65 or above, of which 1,487 were from dong unit and 1,263 were from eup myeon units according to the raw data of 2011 Survey on Elderly Status. All collected data were analyzed using cross tabulation of SPSSWIN(ver 21.0) program and multivariate logistic regression. Results: The results were as follows. First, the factors that influenced the suicidal ideation of urban and rural elderly living alone included degree of depression, experience of abuse, and nutritional management status. Second, the suicidal ideation of urban elderly living alone was affected by the emotional support of their children who live apart and their grandchildren. Third, the suicidal ideation of rural elderly living alone was affected by the emotional support of their kin (including siblings).

• 한국노년학
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.329-352
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• 2009

This study examined life in old age and images of the aged perceived by middle-aged and old-aged generations through indepth interviews with 30 persons aged 40s through 80s residing in three areas (city or county) in capital region in Korea to use it as basic information in planning social welfare policy and reorganizing social services in response to population aging in capital region in Korea. In terms of economic life of the middle-aged and olde-aged generations perceived older people's opportunities for work were rarely given to the aged due to ageism and negative stereotypes of aging and the aged, and the aged tended to regard themselves less able or unable to work. In terms of social life of the aged both middle-aged and old-aged generations perceived that the frequency of social participation was low, and the daily life of the aged was found mostly aimless, unorganized and unplanned. In terms of psycho-social life of the aged both generations still felt that they were not alienated from the family, neighbors, and the society. In terms of social welfare services both generations thought the aged needed basic services such as income maintenance, health care, housing services, and particularly they felt lack of social services. The old-aged generation was willing to travel to the distance taking more than one hour to receive social services that they would need. Both the middle-aged and the old-aged agreed upon the necessity of preparation for old age and the benefits of earlier preparation, however, they said that they could not prepare for their old age due to lack of social programs to help preparation for old age and due to spending for rearing and education of their children. In terms of perceived life in old age both middle-aged and old-aged generations tended to be slightly positive, but the degree of positiveness differed between respondents from urban area and those from rural area regardless of generations. Images of the aged were perceived to be overwhelmingly negative while positive images were very few in number regardless of generations. This finding may suggests that negative stereotypes on aging and the aged are also prevalent in Korean society like in Western societies. Based on findings of this study some implications for social policies in response to population aging in capital region were suggested.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.99-112
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• 2000

This survey was conducted to assess the utilization of health center including health sub-center and community health post and the health service demand of residents in a urban and rural unified community. Officials in Up·Myun·Dong offices visited randomly sampled 4,027 households(4.6% of total households in unified City) which included 3,337 households in urban area(4.9% of total households) and 690 households in rural area(3.7% of total households) and interviewed with heads or housewives of the households in September, 1995. There were significant differences in health-related demographic characteristics including age-sex distribution, educational level, period of residence in the community and medical insurance status of the interviewees between urban and rural areas. Of the respondents, 64.8% in urban area and 55.6% in rural replied that they had utilized the health center in the past. The most common purpose for visiting the health center was to get vaccination in urban area and to get outpatient care in rural area. The top priority health center activity that needs to be reinforced was communicable disease control and over 90% of the respondents preferred to have mobile clinic and home health care service in were also highly demanded. Eighty-six percent of the urban respondents replied that a health sub-center must be established in urban area. In the rural area, 90.3% of the respondents replied that they wanted to maintain the health sub-center and 88.3% wanted to maintain the community health post. Along with the improvement of facilities and equipments of the health center by Rural Health Service Improvement Project, new health service programs must be developed to meet the demand of the community.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.37-42
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• 2007

The scale and the extent of a aging of population of a rural are more serious than those of a urban in China. However, the welfare policy and the service for the aged in the rural are inferior. China established the different systems of social welfare policy for the city and the rural and has administered it since the china was established. Owing to an open-door policy(opening of a reform) the gap between the two got more deeply distinguished. Accordingly. the striking difference is shown in a living environment and a quality of life of the cities and the rural. I made clear the difference of services for the aged in the rural and the urban examining daily lives, medical industry, recreation systems and so on and analyzing their sources. In addition, I proposed the ways to establish synthetic social welfare policy of the urban and the rural.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.689-698
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• 2002

Purpose: The study was carried out to identify the correlations among social support, depression and life satisfaction, and compare them between the rural and urban elderly. Method: The study participants included 57 rural elderly and 59 urban elderly, who were surveyed and interviewed using social support and depression. like satisfaction inventories by nursing students from May, 2002 to June, 2002. Result: The mean scores of social support and life satisfaction in the urban elderly were higher than those in the rural elderly. However, significant differences in the variables between the two elderly groups were not found. The mean score of depression in the rural elderly was higher than that in the urban elderly, but a significant difference between the two groups in depression was not found. Social support was significantly correlates with age, religion, health status in the urban elderly and with family in the rural elderly. Depression was significantly correlated with religion, monthly expenditure, health status in the both groups. Life satisfaction was significantly correlated with age. marital status, religion, monthly expenditure in the urban elderly and with health status in the rural elderly. Social support, depression and life satisfaction were correlated each other in the urban elderly. The significant correlations were found between depression and life satisfaction, and between social support and life satisfaction in the rural elderly. Conclusion: The results suggest that further replicated studies are needed with larger samples. Appropriate nursing interventions with the consideration of characteristics of the rural and urban elderly are needed and developed to improve their social support and depression.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.260-269
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• 2008

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify differences in health status and the utilization of long-term care service between urban and rural aged residents in Korea. Methods: Through convenience sampling, 1,405 elders (829 from urban areas and 576 from rural areas) were selected during March 1 to May 31 in 2004. All the subjects agreed to participate and filled out the survey questionnaire after signing the consent form. The instruments utilized in this study were the impairment of physio-sensory function, ADL IADL, cognitive function, and psycho-social function scale. This instrument was developed by modifying the scab developed by Gurland & Wilder (1984). Data was analyzed using the SPSS Win program. Results: There were significant differences in economic status, duration of living and type of medical insurance between rural and urban elderly(p<.05). Physio-sensory functions (t=4.53. p<.001), ADL (t=3.61. p<.001), IADL (t=2.45, p=.014), cognitive functions (t=-2.63. p=.024) and psycho-social functions (t=3.69. p<.001) were significantly different between the two groups. The utilization of long-term care facility in the urban elderly was significantly higher than that in the rural elderly ($x^2=10.14$, p<.001). Conclusion: Considering these findings. the need for long-term care should be assessed by residence characteristics. Because of different utilization of long term care facility according to the elderly's needs, long-term care services should be considered the residence characteristics.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.228-244
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• 1998

The nutritional status of 362 elderly men and women in Chung-bud area was evaluated in terms of their nutrient intakes, biochemical and anthrophometric measurements by interviews with questionnaires from August to October 1996. Mean intake of all nutrients except ascorbic acid did not meet the RDA for this sample. Protein, vit A, reboflavin, calcium were the most likely to be deficient on the basis of propotions of elderly consuming less than 75% of the RDA. The subjects nutrient intake was significantly affected by gender, marital status, number of family, family composition, educational level, pocket money, and region. Men in rural areas and women over 75 in urban areas were the most vulnerable groups with nutritional deficiency. According to serum biochemical indices, mean level of cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL, total protein, albumin and iron belonged to normal range but mean level of HDL showed below the normal range. More elderly men and women in urban areas showed a higher percentage of abormal level of cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL and HDL than those in rural areas. More elderly men and women in rural areas had abnormal levels of RBC, Hematocrit and hemoglobin compared to those in urban areas. Mean height and weight of elderly men was 161.4cm and 56.2Kg, respectively and 149.1cm and 50.5kg for women. The elderly in rural areas were taller than those in urban areas but had less weight, MAC, TSF, MAMC. Mean BMI of this sample belonged to normal range. However, the elderly in rural areas had a higher rate of underweight and lower for overweight than those in urban areas. The elderly in urban areas had higher blood pressure than those in rural areas.

• Journal of Korean Academic Society of Home Health Care Nursing
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.288-300
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• 2022

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the association of social participation and depressive symptoms with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among older adults living in urban and rural areas. Methods: This secondary, cross-sectional study was conducted with a total of 66,765 adults aged ≥65 years (urban-26,485 and rural-40,280) who participated in the household and individual surveys of the Korea Community Health Survey 2019. Data on the main study variables including social participation, depressive symptoms, and HRQoL were collected from August 16 to October 31, 2019. Multiple linear regression was used to identify the factors affecting HRQoL in urban and rural older adults. Results: The proportion of social participation (χ²=354.69, p<.001) and the level of HRQoL (χ²=12.06, p<.001) were significantly higher in older adults living in urban area than those in rural area. However, there was no significant difference in depressive symptoms between older adults living in urban and rural areas. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that social participation and depressive symptoms were significant predictors of HRQoL in both urban and rural older adults. Conclusion: Our main finding highlights that active participation in social activities and management of depressive symptoms in older adults regardless of living arrangements are crucial to improve HRQoL in later life. Interventions to increase social participation include early assessment of depressive symptoms in the community to promote HRQoL. More longitudinal studies are needed to identify the factors associated with HRQoL between older adults living in urban and rural areas while considering neighborhood environment and living arrangements.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.55 no.5
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• pp.543-557
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• 2022

Purpose: Conditions that limit activity constitute one of the important factors that threaten the health of the elderly. This study sought to analyze the dietary habits and nutritional intake status of the Korean elderly who were faced with activity limitations. Methods: Utilizing data from the 2019 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, we classified 1,383 elderly people aged 65 and over into 2 groups: those with activity limitations (n = 222, LG) and those without (n = 1,161, NG). We conducted a comparative analysis of the general characteristics, dietary habits, intake of major food groups, energy, and major nutrients. The nutrient adequacy ratio (NAR), index of nutritional quality (INQ), and healthy eating practices were also analyzed. Complex sampling analysis was utilized for all the analyses with energy intake and socio-demographic variables adjusted. Results: The average age (73.8 years) of members of the LG was higher than those of the NG (72.6 years; p = 0.010). A higher percentage of participants in the LG lived alone (28.1%) compared to those in NG (17.2%; p = 0.004). The LG participants tended to regard their health status as "bad" or "very bad" (62.7%) more often than those in the NG (19.3%; p < 0.001). The LG subjects ate breakfast less frequently (p = 0.054) and ate out significantly less often than the NG subjects (p < 0.001). The LG subjects ate more grain (p = 0.001), fewer seeds (p = 0.014) and vegetables (p = 0.039). Carbohydrate made up a large percentage of their energy intake (p = 0.026). The LG subjects had significantly lower NARs of energy (p = 0.021), protein (p = 0.031), and riboflavin (p = 0.037). The LG participants also had a significantly lower rate of healthy eating practices (22.7%) compared to those in the NG (37.8%; p < 0.001). Conclusion: Activity-limited elderly, despite their need for appropriate dietary management, were poorly nourished. They were likely to live alone, thereby making it hard to provide them with social support. Hence, there is a need to provide nutrition education and policy support for the elderly bearing the burden of limited activity.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Rural Architecture
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.57-65
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• 2016

When the castle of the city was destructed from 1911 through 1915 in Cheongju, the city's spatial structure was reorganized and "Han-ok Housing", a dwelling site filled with Korean traditional houses, was newly formed around the former castle site. These days, the Han-ok housing in Seoun-dong, Cheongju in which elderly couples and senior citizens live is enclosed by modernized roads and three or four-story buildings, leaving the housing as an isolated island in the city block. Nonetheless, the Han-ok housing not only plays an important role in sustaining the historic and local identity of the city, but also offers environmental benefits in terms of daylighting and ventilation. The purpose of this study is to reorganize the housing suitable for those who currently live and recreate it by adding new functionality. Consequently, three strategies are established; the conservation of existing building through the improvement of existing facilities; the conversion of vacant buildings into a new use; and the creation of the urban mid-rise Han-ok housing at street sides. The first strategy has a significance in that the traditional building's single wing plan, small room sizes and lack of storages now cause great inconvenience for current life style. The second strategy also promotes the practical use of abandoned buildings through alterations and additions. Finally, the creation of the urban mid-rise Han-ok housing that is accomplished by the combination of reinforced concrete and wooden structure interacts with or respond to the city's development. As a result, this study for the adaptive reuse of Han-ok housing proves how the traditional properties can be maintained in a careful manner and how its creative reuse can be achieved.