• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
• /
• v.35 no.3
• /
• pp.401-414
• /
• 2021

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the practice of quarantine guidelines and psychological influence between the young (aged under 64 years) and the elderly (aged over 65 years) groups during the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic. Method: The data of this study were obtained from the Community Health Survey, 2020, Korean Disease Control and Prevention Agency. A total of 229,296 (young group: 156,314, elderly group: 72,812) participants were included in this study. Independent t-test, chi-square test and descriptive analysis were used for analyzing the data. Result: Elderly group showed lower adherence to wearing face-mask, maintaining social distance when outgoing and practicing handwashing rules than the young group. The elderly group showed a higher level of psychological influence than the young group. In addition, the elderly group had fewer supporters when they were isolated than the young group. Also, the elderly had difficulties in following the quarantine guidelines related to COVID-19. Conclusion: To prevent infection and death from COVID-19 in the elderly, proper education and support programs are needed. Also, support groups should be prepared and applied to relieve their psychological impact related to COVID-19.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
• /
• v.33 no.4
• /
• pp.428-439
• /
• 2020

The purpose of this study was to investigate the current status of chronic diseases according to obesity in the elderly older than age 65 using data from the 7th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2016~2018). The subjects of the survey were 3,245 elderly older than age 65 who participated in the health survey and nutrition survey, 45.8% of the subjects were males and 54.2% of the subjects were female. 37.5% of all the elderly were obese, and the females (42.4%) were more obese than the males (31.8%) (p<0.001). Diabetes, hypertension, and hypertriglyceridemia had a similar prevalence of 24.6%, 63.0%, and 12.7% in males and females, respectively. Hypercholesterolemia was higher in the elderly females (44.2%) than in the elderly males (24.9%) (p<0.001). Through the logistic regression analysis, it was found that the prevalence of chronic diseases was higher in obesity than normal in elderly males and females (p<0.001). The total food intake increased from 'under weight' to 'obesity' in males (p<0.01) and females (p<0.001). In the case of the elderly males, the higher the degree of obesity, the higher the energy intake (p<0.05), and 'pre-obesity' consumed the most energy in elderly females. As a result of this study, the higher the obesity rate of the elderly, the higher the prevalence of chronic diseases.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Rural Architecture
• /
• v.25 no.3
• /
• pp.1-8
• /
• 2023

This study aims to analyze the trend of changes in the elderly living arrangement over the past 20 years and the reasons why the elderly choose these changes. The subjects of the survey were households aged 65 years or older in Korea. Data from the survey of Ministry of Health and Welfare conducted in 2004, 2014, 2020 were used for the analysis. The result of analysis was as follows; First, since 2000, the number of elderly households living with their children has been rapidly decreasing, while the number of elderly couple households and single elderly households is gradually increasing. Second, elderly living alone appeared more in rural areas, women, older people, and elderly with low education. They are in a vulnerable position that needs help. Therefore, welfare policies for the elderly should be focused on elderly single households. Finally the reason for choosing elderly single household in 2020 was that the voluntary choice by the individual accounted for a much higher rate than the unintentional choice by the children. In addition, the life satisfaction of the elderly who arbitrarily selected the living arrangement was higher than that of the elderly who deliberately chose the living arrangement.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
• /
• v.32 no.4
• /
• pp.266-271
• /
• 2020

Purpose: A survey was conducted to investigate the role, priority, and awareness of physical therapists in the community care system for the elderly. Methods: Nine hundred ninety-three physical therapists were invited to an online survey from 1st to 30th June 2020. Results: While the awareness of physical therapists for the community care system for the elderly was found to be low, the role priority and performance ability were found to be high. Fall training scored the highest for the job duties of physical therapists, and functional training scored the highest for the performance ability of physical therapists. For the role priority by the education status regarding the community care system, the participants who received the education program showed higher scores in the performance ability than those who did not. For the role priority and performance ability according to the education levels, higher education levels resulted in higher scores in both outcomes. Regarding the clinical experience, low scores were found in the participants with less than five years of experience. Conclusion: Physical therapy establishes itself as an essential area of expertise in the community care system for the elderly. Therefore, these results can be utilized in developing a model for Korean community care for the elderly.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.329-339
• /
• 2020

Objectives: This study was undertaken to evaluate the intake of vitamins and minerals from dietary supplements (DSs) in Korean adults and elderly. Methods: Data for this study was generated from the 2017 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). We analyzed 4,204 individuals aged 19 years and older (2,579 users and 1,625 non-users). The survey included 24-h recall questions on food and DS intakes, as well as questions on DS use over the past year. The nutrient DSs evaluated were calcium, phosphorus, iron, vitamin A, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and vitamin C. Total nutrient intakes were obtained by combining nutrient intakes of foods and DSs consumed by each subject. Results: Most micronutrient intakes from food (except for thiamin) in adult users, and the four micronutrient intakes (iron, vitamin A, vitamin B₂ and vitamin C) in elderly users, were significantly higher than values obtained in non-users. For total intake of nutrients and DSs, both adult and elderly users had a significantly higher intake than non-users. While proportions below Estimated Average Requirements for all micronutrients by adding respective DSs in users were significantly reduced in adults and elderly as compared to non-users, the proportions of above Tolerable Upper Intake Levels for calcium and vitamin A in adults, and vitamin A in elderly, were significantly increased. In the total subjects examined, consumption of DSs was associated with lower odds ratios of undernutrition of micronutrients, and with higher odds ratios of overnutrition of calcium, iron, and vitamin A, as compared to non-users of DSs. Conclusions: Although DSs consumption by adults and the elderly improves the micronutrient status, it also increases the risk of excessive intake of certain vitamins and minerals.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Dental Administration
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.1-7
• /
• 2023

The purpose of this study was to identify chronic diseases and oral health care behaviors in 65-year-old individuals and to determine the factors that influence masticatory mobility. The raw data from the 8th National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 2020 were utilized to analyze factors associated with chewing discomfort in 1,278 elderly Koreans. Using IBM SPSS Statistics 27.0, we conducted complex sample cross-analysis to examine the difference in chewing discomfort based on general characteristics, chronic diseases, and oral health care behaviors. Additionally, we performed complex sample multiple logistic regression analysis to identify the factors associated with chewing discomfort. As a factor influencing chewing discomfort, unmet dental care was 3.33 times higher (p<0.001), and subjective oral health was 0.18 times more likely to be moderate (p<0.001) and 0.48 times more likely to be good (p<0.001) lower. In the case of arthritis, the level of chewing discomfort was high (OR=1.08, p=0.694), but there was no significant difference. As a result of the aforementioned factors, it is believed that there is a need for policies and systems to provide dental care to the elderly before their oral health deteriorates. Additionally, tailored oral health promotion programs should be implemented.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
• /
• v.11 no.4
• /
• pp.199-211
• /
• 2023

Purpose : Rapid population aging in South Korea is emerging as serious social problems, and interest in the health-related quality of life of the elderly is also increasing. Therefore, this study attempted to provide basic data to develop measures to improve the health-related quality of life of the elderly by identifying the impact of the elderly's dietary lifestyle on the health-related quality of life. Methods : Utilizing raw data from the Korea national health and nutrition examination survey spanning from 2011 to 2020, this study focused on individuals aged 65 and above. After excluding cases with missing data, 12,731 individuals were included in the final analysis. Various statistical methods including frequency analysis, t-tests, ANOVA, Scheffé test and hierarchical regression analysis were performed using SPSS 25.0 for windows. The statistical significance level (α) was set at .05. Results : The main results of this study were as follows. Firstly, dietary lifestyle exhibited variations depending on gender, age, education level, individual income, basic livelihood type, household type, self-rated health status, and chewing difficulty (p<.001). Secondly, there were disparities in health-related quality of life (as measured by the EQ-5D index) based on gender, age, education level, residence, individual income, basic livelihood security, self-rated health status, and chewing difficulty (p<.001). Thirdly, the EQ-5D index showed that elderly individuals' dietary lifestyle adversely impacted their health-related quality of life (F=353.74, p<.001). Conclusion : Therefore, it is necessary to prepare policies to improve the health-related quality of life by maintaining a proper diet for the elderly, and customized support and management is required taking into account the elderly's gender, age, education level, individual income, basic livelihood security, household type, self-rated health status, chewing difficulty etc.

• Journal of Industrial Convergence
• /
• v.20 no.9
• /
• pp.131-139
• /
• 2022

The purpose of this study was to ensure that the elderly do not enter a facility even if their health deteriorates, but continue to live in the community and receive necessary care. According to the survey of the elderly, the cohabitation type of the elderly in Korea was that they lived with married adults and/or unmarried children in addition to single and married households. Therefore, in this study, using the SPSS 25 program, the effects of the elderly's socio-demographic characteristics and cohabitation type on the intention to continue living in the community was analyzed using the 2020 elderly welfare status survey data. The main research results are as follows. First, gender, age, and residence type of the demographic characteristics of the elderly were found to be statistically significant. Second, single households, married households, and households living with the eldest son revealed the statistical significance level of the elderly. Based on this, we were intending to provide basic data necessary for establishing welfare policies for the elderly, such as strengthening care and an age-friendly environment, in order to improve the continued residence of the elderly in the local community.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
• /
• v.8 no.5
• /
• pp.177-184
• /
• 2022

This study is tried to contribute to the development of nursing intervention for the health promotion of the elderly by comparing the health-related quality of life (EQ-5D) of the working and non-working elderly using the data from the 8th National Health and Nutrition Survey (2020). The subjects of the study were the elderly aged 65 or older, 512 working elderly and 862 non-working elderly, with a total of 1,374 people. As a result of the study, it was found that the quality of life of the working elderly was higher than that of the non-working elderly in all five areas of health-related quality of life. In particular, the non-working elderly had a lower health-related quality of life at twice (95%CI=1.32-3.14) in the area of self-care compared to the working elderly. Anxiety/depression was found to be 1.6 times (95%CI=1.19-2.35), daily activity 1.6 times (95%CI=1.18-2.25), mobility 1.5 times (95%CI=1.19-1.92), and pain/discomfort 1.2 times (95%CI=1.02-1.64). Therefore, based on this, it is suggested that it is necessary to develop a program that can maintain and promote the independent standard of living and mental health of the elderly.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.32 no.2
• /
• pp.237-243
• /
• 2022

Unmet healthcare is an important indicator to measure accessibility of healthcare services. To examine the latest status of unmet healthcare needs in South Korea, four different data which is composed of nationally representative sample of South Korean population were used; the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES, 2007-2020), the Community Health Survey (CHS, 2008-2020), the Korea Health Panel Survey (KHP, 2011-2018), and the Korean Welfare Panel Study (KOWEPS, 2006-2020). The proportion of individuals reporting unmet healthcare needs were 6.4% (KNHANES), 5.4% (CHS), and 12.2% (KHP). Annual percentage change (APC) which identifies trend for the follow-up period was -9.9%, -9.1%, and -5.5%, respectively. The proportion of individuals reporting unmet healthcare needs due to cost were 1.0% (KNHANES), 0.4% (CHS), 2.2% (KHP), and 0.4% (KOWEPS). The APC was -11.3%, -17.0%, -12.2%, and -21.2%, respectively. Overall, the low-income and the elderly population reported a higher rate of unmet health care needs. Although the overall experience rate of unmet medical care due to cost decreased over the past decade, the disparity between the lowest and highest income groups still remained in 2020. Disparity between income levels and age groups is a challenge to address in healthcare system, and these results suggest the need for adequate health coverage for the low-income and the elderly populations.