• 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.

• 한국노년학
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.1247-1259
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• 2009

Muscle mass is reduced by aging. There seems to be no direct relationship between sarcopenia(muscle loss) and medical cost in the elderly, but lowering muscle mass results in increase risk of fall and decrease of strength, fitness, physical activity, and independent life. This is coupled with physical trouble and chronic degenerative disease such as diabetes, obesity, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension. Thus, sarcopenia is potential risk factor increasing mortality. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of elastic band exercise and detraining on sarcopenia prevention related variables, body composition and fitness. The subject of this study was 60~70 aged 14 seniors who participated in exercise program in J-welfare senior center at J-gu in S-city. Elastic band exercise was performed twice per week for 12 weeks. The body composition and fitness variables were measured before 12 weeks of control, after control(before exercise), after 12 weeks of exercise(before detraining), and after 12 weeks of detraining. There was no significant difference in body composition and fitness variables before and after 12 weeks of control, but elastic band exercise before and after 12 weeks has effect on body composition variables such as weight (t=2.978, p=0.001), body mass index (t=3.502, p=0.004), percent body fat (t=2.216, p=0.045), muscle mass (t=-3.837, p=0.002), visceral fat area (t=5.186, p<0.001), and waist-hip ratio (t=3.045, p=0.009) and on fitness variables such as 2-minutes step (t=-6.891 p<0.001), arm curl (t=-4.702, p<0.001), chair stand (t=-4.860, p<0.001), chair sit and reach (t=-5.910, p<0.001), back scratch (t=-3.835, p=0.002), and 8-ft up and go (t=7.560, p<0.001). This exercise effect was continued after 12 weeks of detraining on body composition variables such as weight (t=2.323, p=0.037), body mass index (t=2.503, p=0.026), muscle mass (t=-3.137, p=0.008) and on fitness variables such as 2-minutes step (t=-6.489 p<0.001), chair stand (t=-4.694, p<0.001), chair sit and reach (t=-3.690, p=0.003), and 8-ft up and go (t=7.539, p<0.001). It was found that the elastic band exercise has positive effect on body composition and fitness in the elderly and the effect was maintained over 12 weeks of detraining.

• 한국노년학
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.1361-1381
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• 2009

There have lately been a variety of social issues in our society due to rapid social changes. Specifically, how to approach elderly people who suffer from dementia is never an easy task, and few in-depth studies have ever focused on their quality of life due to that. The purpose of this study was to examine the quality of life of elderly people with dementia and the relationship between their quality of life and the environments of facilities for them in an attempt to lay the foundation for the development of compatible programs tailored to the environments of the facilities and for relevant policy setting. It's ultimately meant to improve the quality of life of the elderly with dementia and the environments of facilities for them. The subjects in this study were elderly people with dementia who were housed in senior residential and medical welfare facilities in Daegu and Gyeongsangbukdo. The collected data were analyzed with a SPSS 12.0 program, and frequency analysis, cross-tabs and multiple logistic regression analysis were utilized. As a result, facility environments were identified as one of the variables that had a significant impact on the quality of life of the elderly people with dementia. There are some suggestions about how to boost their quality of life: First, good environments should be prepared in consideration of the characteristics of elderly people with dementia in order for themto be satisfied with their own quality of life, and the way of looking at their potentials should be changed. Second, it's found that main caregivers affected the quality of life of the elderly people with dementia, and the kind of programs that focus on the improvement of the relationship between elderly people with dementia and their main caregivers is required. Third, there should be a change in the environments of the facilities. The facilities should be well equipped to successfully respond to the symptoms of elderly people with dementia. To redress their poor accessibility to the facilities, infrastructure involving nursing homes and professional personnels should be built by utilizing the Internet, and the facilities and local community should make concerted efforts to provide quality care to elderly people in want of it.

• 한국노년학
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.459-472
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• 2007

This research has its purpose of developing a tool to assess the needs of the Korean elderly at home population and to provide adequate services by evaluating their physical, psychological, and socio-environmental aspects. This developed tool is composed of two hundred questions and has the advantage of combined physical, psychological and social environmental situation assessment of the elderly at home. The tool also contains not only the objective view of the professionals, but also the subjective appeals of the elderly at home population so that it can reflect their substantial desires. The assessment tool was developed over 21 months from July, 2004 to March, 2006 and this period can be divided into three different stages. In the first stage, collecting of questions for the desire-focused assessment of the elderly by literature investigation and researching foreign source materials was carried out, and this ultimately developed assessment tool was applied to the long-term care insurance pilot project in the second stage. In this process, we revised some insufficiencies of this tool after we applied to elderly of 250 from the pilot project and other 200 elderly from this research team. For the last stage, the tool was completed by using inquiries of the focused group and the group of professionals to ensure its reliability and validity. In the process of developing the tool, the total of 200 questions under 13 subcategories was selected. The 13 subcategories are basic information, subjective appeals, information of the main helper, use of services, house environment, condition of health, condition of rehabilitation, daily living(ADL, IADL, defecation, assistance), social maintenance, behavioral disability, medical health, living habits, and strength. This tool is on the purpose to assess thoroughly the desires that the elderly at home population has and to provide the best service they need.

• The Korean Journal of Medicine
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• v.94 no.1
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• pp.96-106
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• 2019

Background/Aims: It is well known that gender differences are associated with clinical outcomes in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However, it is not clear whether gender differences affect the prognosis of elderly patients with AMI. Methods: We analyzed the incidence of in-hospital complications and mortality in the Korea Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry-National Institutes of Health from November 2011 to June 2015. This study included elderly patients (≥ 75 years) diagnosed with AMI. Results: A total of 2,953 patients were eligible for this study. Among them, 1,529 (51.8%) patients were female, and the mean age of the female group was older than that of the male group (80.7 ± 4.4 vs. 79.6 ± 4.0 years, respectively, p < 0.001). Elderly females utilized emergency medical services less frequently compared with elderly males (11.5 vs. 15.4%, respectively, p < 0.001). Elderly female AMI patients had a similar rate of in-hospital mortality compared with elderly males (7.1 vs. 8.4%, respectively, p = 0.196). The rate of major cardiac adverse events (MACEs) was lower in elderly females than males during a 12-month follow-up (hazard ratio [HR] 1.19, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.00-1.41, p = 0.045). According to multivariate analysis, the male gender is an independent factor for predicting 1-year MACEs (HR 1.37, 95% CI 1.14-1.65, p < 0.001). Conclusions: No significant differences in peri-procedural complications or in-hospital mortality were observed between male and female elderly patients with AMI. However, elderly female patients had a more favorable prognosis than male patients during a 1-year clinical follow-up.

• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.9-22
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• 2023

The Lifestyle-DEPER (Decision, Execution, Personal Factors, Environment, Resources) model explains lifestyle formation. Lifestyles are shaped through the decision, execution, and habituation stages. Factors influencing the establishment of a lifestyle are categorized as environmental, resource, and personal. The environment encompasses our surroundings and social, physical, cultural, and virtual environments. Resources refer to what individuals possess, such as health, time, economic, and social resources. Personal factors include competencies, needs, and values. At the lifestyle establishment stage, each of these factors influences a different stage. These collective processes are referred to as events, encompassing both personal and social events. Health-related lifestyle factors include physical activity, nutrition, social relationships, and occupational participation. These are the goals of lifestyle intervention. The intervention strategy based on the Lifestyle-DEPER model, called KEEP (Knowledge, Evaluation, Experience, Plan), is a comprehensive approach to promoting a healthy lifestyle by considering lifestyle formation stages and their influencing factors. This study introduces the Lifestyle-DEPER model and presents a lifestyle intervention strategy (KEEP) to promote health. Further research is required to validate the practicality of the model after applying interventions based on the lifestyle construction model.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.165-172
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• 2023

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to determine whether there is a significant difference in the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio according to the history of suicide attempt in patients with psychiatric diseases. Methods : A medical record review was conducted on patients who had been hospitalized in Konyang University Hospital since 2021-03-01 to 2023-02-28 to collect demographic and clinical characteristics. T-test for continuous variables and Chi-square test for categorical variables were performed to determine demographic differences according to the history of suicide attempt, and the ANCOVA test was performed to compare the average value of peripheral inflammatory marker according to the history of suicide attempt with gender and age as covariates. One-way variance analysis was performed to determine whether the number of suicide attempt causes significant difference of the peripheral inflammatory marker. Results : The final analysis target of this study was 266 patients, 101 had history of suicide attempt, and 165 had no history of suicide attempt. The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (p<0.001) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (p<0.001) were higher in patients with the history of suicide attempt than patients without the history of suicide attempt, but the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio were not significantly increased depending on the serial increase of number of suicide attempts. Conclusions : This study suggests that peripheral inflammatory markers are meaningful and easily accessible indicators for predicting the risk of suicide attempt in psychiatric patients. We expect that prospective follow-up study will be conducted with more subjects and controlled potential confounding variables.

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.143-181
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• 2005

This article examines factors that influence health and quality of life. In addition to the symptomatology and physiological functioning, the influence of the psychological functioning and interpersonal relationship on the overall health and quality of life are also investigated. Using a case-study approach, a total of 70 patients suffering from allergy or asthma were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire developed by the present authors. It assessed the following six areas: Cause and onset of illness, psychological functioning, health management, trust, social support received and overall health and quality of life. Based on the transactional model (Bandura, 1997; Kim & Park, 2005), the results of the case studies have been integrated and divided into three aspects: (1) Cause and onset of illness that includes physiological and environment factors; (2) mediating influences that includes psychological functioning, health management, interpersonal relationship and social support received; and (3) outcome factor that includes symptomatology, health and quality of life. The psychological functioning includes self-efficacy (self-regulated efficacy, efficacy for enlisting social support, efficacy for managing the environment, and efficacy for overcoming difficulties), positive outlook, life goals, experience of stress, and proxy control. Interpersonal relationship includes trust of family members and the physician. Health management includes receiving proper health assessment, following the advice and prescription given by the physicians, control of the environment and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. The results indicate that physiological, psychological, relational and environment factors interact with each other and affect individual's overall health and quality of life. Self-efficacy, social support received from family members, trust of physicians, and the health care system are key factors promoting healthy lifestyle and quality of life. The results indicate the need for further interdisciplinary, indigenous and cultural psychological research.

• Land and Housing Review
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.1-16
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• 2023

As population ageing and shrinking accompanied by dramatically expanded individual life expectancy and declining fertility rate is a global phenomenon, ageing becomes its broader perspective of ageing well embedded into sustained health and well-being, and also the fourth industrial revolution speeds up a more robust and inclusive view of smart ageing. While the latest paradigm of SA has gained considerable attention in the midst of sharply surging demand for health and social services and rapidly declining labor force, the definition has been widely and constantly discussed. This research is to constitute a conceptual framework of smart ageing (SA) from systematic literature review and the use of a series of secondary data and Geographical Information Systems(GIS), and to explore its components. The findings indicate that SA is considered to be an innovative approach to ensuring quality of life and protecting dignity, and identifies its constituents. Indeed, the construct of SA elaborates the multidimensional nature of independent living, encompassing three spheres - Aging in Place (AP), Well Aging (WA), and Active Ageing (AA). AP aims at maintaining independence and autonomy, entails safety, comfort, familiarity and emotional attachment, and it values social supports and services. WA assures physical, psycho-social and economic domains of well-being, and it concerns subjective happiness. AA focuses on both social engagement and economic participation. Moreover, the three constructs of SA are underpinned by specific elements (right to housing, income adequacy, health security, social care, and civic engagement) which are interrelated and interconnected.

• Land and Housing Review
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.77-93
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• 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about significant social changes through government prevention and control measures, changes in people's risk perceptions, and lifestyle changes. In response, urban inhabitants changed their behaviors significantly, including their preferences for transportation modes and urban spaces in response to government quarantine policies and concerns over the potential risk of infection in urban spaces. These changes may have long-lasting effects on urban spaces beyond the COVID-19 pandemic or they may evolve and develop new forms. Therefore, this study aims to explore the potential for urban spaces to adapt to the present and future pandemics by examining changes in urban residents' preferences in travel modes and urban space use due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study found that overall preferences for travel modes and urban spaces significantly differ between the pre-pandemic, pandemic, and post-pandemic periods. During the pandemic, preferences for travel modes and urban spaces has decreased, except for privately owned vehicles and green spaces, which are perceived to be safe from transmission, show more favorable than others. Post-pandemic preferences for travel modes and urban spaces are less favorable than pre-pandemic with urban spaces being five times less favorable than transportation. Although green spaces and medical facilities that were positively perceived during the pandemic are expected to return to the pre-pandemic preference level, other factors of urban spaces are facing a new-normal. The findings suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on urban residents' preferences for travel modes and urban space use. Understanding these changes is crucial for developing strategies to adapt to present and future pandemics and improve urban resilience.