• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.618-625
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• 2009

The purposes of this study were to evaluate food safety knowledge and to assess home food safety performance of home-delivered meal service recipients. Two facilities providing home-delivered meal services for older adults were located in Seoul. A total of 120 service recipients were surveyed using an individual interview technique and 97 responses were used for data analysis. A statistical data analysis was completed using SPSS program (ver.14) for descriptive analysis, t-test, ANOVA, and correlation analysis. The majority of the participants were 70 years old or older and females. They perceived their health status as poor or very poor and took more than one kind of medicines. An average score of the food safety knowledge test was 11.48 based on 18 points (63.8%). The results revealed that the older adults knew the importance of hand washing but were not aware of when and how to wash hands. There was room to improve knowledge on cleaning and sanitizing fresh fruits and using wiping cloth. The knowledge score for each category was not significantly different by gender and age. The home food safety practices of the older adults was rated as 2.8 out of 4 points; the highest score was associated for proper food handling category and the lowest score was for cleaning and sanitizing. The worst performance was related to managing hand cuts and wounds (1.96). The total knowledge score and an average performance score were significantly correlated (p<0.01). Food safety education programs targeting the older adults who receive home-delivered meal services would improve the recipients' food safety knowledge and practices related to consumption of the meals at home. The programs should focus on not only improving food safety knowledge but also changing food safety practices.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.243-256
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• 2013

Objectives: This study was to investigate fear of falling and related factors in elderly living alone based on fall experience. Methods: Participants were 404 elderly women(faller=148, non-faller=256) over 65 years who were homebound living alone in Jeollanam-do Province. Face-to-face interviews were conducted using questionnaires from April $23^{th}$ to June $9^{th}$ 2013. The questionnaires consisted of demographic variables, fall experience, Fear of falling questionnaire(FOFQ), Falls Efficacy Scale(FES) and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression(CES-D). The collected data were analyzed using the SPSS version 14.0. Results: The fear of falling and the influential factors were different according to fall experience. Regression model for fear of falling in fallers significantly accounted for 46.1%(F=6.71, p<0.001); difficulty of performing activity, depression, fall-efficacy, static balance and assistive devices. Regression model for fear of falling in non-fallers significantly accounted for 55.2%(F=15.16, p<0.001); fall-efficacy, environmental hazards, difficulty of performing activity, risk of nutrition, housing type, dizziness and assistive devices. Conclusion: Results demonstrate that fall is an important health problem for elderly women living alone, and show fall experience for factors influencing fear of falling. These results could be used in the developing fall prevention programs.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.58-67
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• 2007

For the rapidly growing elderly population, the achievement and maintenance of good nutritional status is critical to health, functioning and quality of life. Elderly women living alone have been identified as a group associated with poor nutrition. The purpose of this study was to assess dietary intakes of elderly women living alone as compared to those of elderly women living with family in a rural area and to examine seasonal variation. The subjects are 49 elderly women living alone and 41 elderly women living with family who reside in Goryeong-gun, Gyeongbuk, and their food intakes were assessed once each time in summer 2005, winter 2005-2006, and spring 2006. The average ages were 74.7 years for living alone and 72.8 years for living with family. Education level was not different between the two groups. Height, weight, body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, and fasting blood glucose were not significantly different between the two groups. Average intakes of major nutrients, nutrient adequacy ratio, mean adequacy ratio and index of nutritional quality were lower in the elderly women living alone compared with the elderly women living with family in summer, but the differences in intakes of most nutrients became insignificant both in winter and in spring. High carbohydrate and low fat diet was prevalent and intakes of carbohydrate and fat in summer deviated from macronutrient acceptable distribution ranges. Percentages of the subjects who consumed energy less than 75% of the estimated energy requirement and nutrients less than the estimated average requirement were higher than those reported by the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. In summer, the percentage of the subjects who consumed energy less than both 75% of the estimated energy requirement and 4 nutrients less than estimated average requirements was 58.5% of the elderly women living alone, which was higher than 26.5% of the elderly women living with family and that of National Nutrition Survey. Therefore, nutrition policies including nutrition education and support are necessary to improve nutritional status of elderly, especially elderly women living alone and should reflect regional and seasonal characteristics.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.417-431
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• 2007

This study investigates the differences among residental areas in the health, standard of living, and social relationships of female elderly living alone. The total of 501 subjects(185 from rural areas, 159 from fishing communities, 77 from the islands, and 80 from urban areas) were questioned from May to July, 2006. The research area was confined to Chungcheong Province. The female elderly living alone of this study were an average of seventy-three years old, had a low cost of living, and received little formal school education. Over sixty percent(60.3) of them lived on less than thirty dollars a month which was the recognized Korean poverty level in 2006. The female elderly living alone were evaluated as being in good health, but they themselves perceived their health as being poor. Observed by residential areas, the subjects in urban areas were lower in ADL, and both the urban dwellers and the islanders appeared to be higher in their satisfaction with medical services as compared to those in rural areas and fishing communities. The fishing villagers showed the lowest standard of living for female elderly living alone. The analysis of social relationships as seen in the different residental areas revealed that the female elderly living alone g in urban areas tended to be receiving social supports rather than providing for others, and subjects living in fishing areas and the islands proved to be relatively higher in the exchange of social supports. In relation to offspring, the female elderly living alone in urban areas had a lower frequency of meeting with their children and also a lesser degree of intimacy with them because they lived at a distance. On the other hand, subjects living in rural areas and fishing communities had a higher frequency of meeting with their children and a greater degree of intimacy with them even if they lived at a distance. The study also showed that the female elderly living alone in the islands had a higher frequency of once meeting per three week with their offspring and a higher degree of intimacy with them because they all live in the same islands. In conclusion, the subject living in urban areas appeared to be isolated from their offspring as compared to the other seniors in the study. The female elderly living alone in urban areas suffered from an insufficient network of relatives and neighbors, and they experienced a poor quality of relationships to their offspring. Almost all of the lone seniors in the study had a low score in social activities; however, the female elderly living alone in urban areas revealed a higher level of participation in volunteer activities, group activities, and educational activities. Nevertheless, the lone seniors living in urban areas were not satisfied with their participation in social activities. The subjects living in rural in fishing communities and the islands showed more participation in money-making activities. This study suggests that the policies for female elderly living alone should reflect the differences of regional characteristics.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.603-614
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• 2017

Purpose: This study was performed to identify the health and nutritional status of Korean adults according to food security by age group. Methods: The subjects were 20~79 year old adults (n = 16,595) who participated in the fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2010~2012). Subjects were divided into three groups based on food security such as secure, mildly insecure, and moderately/severely insecure groups. Dietary intake was estimated by 24-hour dietary recall. As for mental health status, the data on mental stress, sleep hours, depression symptoms, and suicide ideation were used. Results: Korean adults who were exposed to high food insecurity typically had low income levels, lived alone, and were recipients of basic welfare. In the 20~39y group, people with higher food insecurity had lower concentrations of hemoglobin and higher iron-binding capacity. In the 40~59y group, people with higher food insecurity had lower HDL-cholesterol. In the 60~79y group, people with higher food insecurity had higher total cholesterol levels, more stress, more experiences of depression symptoms, and were more suicidal. Mean intakes of energy, protein, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, vitamin A, carotene, vitamin $B_1$, vitamin $B_2$, niacin, and vitamin C were lower in the food insecure groups. Amounts of vegetables, fruits, and seasoning intakes tended to be lower in people with higher food insecurity. The effects of food security on nutrition intake were greater in the 40~59y and 60~79y groups than the 20-39y group. Conclusion: Food insecurity was related to certain health indicators such as anemia and cholesterol levels and affected mental health. The effects of food insecurity on health and nutritional status were different by age group.