• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• 제14권3호
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• pp.242-251
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• 2020

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to examine disparities in food and nutrient intakes based on family types identified among 1,856 participants who were the Korean elderly people in the 6th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHNES) excluding those who were currently practicing the diet therapy. SUBJECTS/METHODS: We separated the subjects into two groups: living alone (LA, n = 638) and living with a spouse (LS, n = 1,218). We also examined the disparities of dietary quantity and quality of those two groups using complex sampling design general linear regression analyses (CS GLM). RESULTS: In the LA group, there was a higher percentage of females and average age in LA group was higher than the participants in the LS group. Household income and education level were significantly lower in LA compared to those of LS. The frequencies of skipping meals were higher in LA. LA's food and nutrient intakes showed lower consumption of vegetables, fruits, seaweeds, and of most nutrients. Even after adjusting for the confounding factors, the consumption of vegetables, seaweeds, carbohydrates, potassium, riboflavin, and vitamin C showed lower in LA than LS. Moreover, LA's nutrient intake ratios compared to the KDRIs were lower which turned out to be similar to their nutrient intakes. CONCLUSIONS: These results show that dietary behavior and food intake of the elderly are associated with family types. Frequently skipping meals and less dietary variety are more common with elderly persons who were living alone. Therefore, it is necessary to integrate the supplementary food programs and nutrition education programs for the elderly living alone.

• Journal of Community Nutrition
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• 제3권2호
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• pp.103-109
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• 2001

With a continuous and steep increase in life expectancies, Korean society is expected to enter the aged society by year 2020. And as the number of elderly increases, the burden of medical and health care expenses for them becomes greater in every developed society. Hence, the preventive approach for chronic degenerative diseases remains to be the best solution for the above-mentioned problem and warranting optimal nutrition would be one of the most important approaches. We performed a nutrition survey on 585 older adults of 50 years of age and older, residing in 3 metropolitan areas including Daejun, Daeku and Kwangju. Anthropometry, including body composition analysis based on the bioelectrical impedance analysis using InBody 3.0 and dietary intake survey by semi-quantitative flood frequency questionnaires, were used in collecting data. As one of the most important factors affecting the health and nutritional status of the elderly, we focused on living arrangements. Analyses were performed on the data from 550 subjects only, after excluding statistical outliers. Three hundred and sixty-eight of them(66.9%) were female and the number of elderly(65 years of age and older) was 485. According to the statistical analyses, the female elderly were more vulnerable to malnutrition than the male elderly. And the older they befame, the less adequate they were in nutrient intake. In addition to this, the elderly living alone showed the poorest patterns of nutrient intake and anthropometry. Although the exact effect of living alone could differ among different sex-age groups, the fact that the elderly living alone is vulnerable to malnutrition would remain concrete. This raises the utmost necessity of nutrition intervention to be devised and directed to the targeted population, namely the living-alone elderly from the government level. The intervention may include nutrition education, nutrition counseling and support In forms of meal service by networking the efforts of central as well as local governments to ensure the good health of the Korean elderly.

• 한국치위생학회지
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• 제20권6호
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• pp.831-841
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• 2020

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the oral health status and oral health behavior and identify the factors related to the oral health status by age-specific groups in vulnerable elderly individuals. Methods: We used data from the 7th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The differences in the oral health status and oral health behavior by age-specific groups were analyzed using complex sample chi-square tests and a generalized linear model. The relationship between the oral health status and oral health behavior by age-specific groups was analyzed using a complex samples general linear model. Results: The DMFT index of the young-old elderly was 10.65±0.60, and that of the old-old elderly was 12.78±0.72, which was higher. The condition of the mandibular prosthesis was more common in the old-old elderly, and there was a statistically significant difference (p<0.05). The DMFT index in the old-old elderly was found to be higher as the average number of brushings per day decreased, and no oral examination was performed. Conclusions: The vulnerable elderly themselves are interested in maintaining their own health, and the government needs to undertake efforts to reduce the medical blind spots by supporting institutional and environmental conditions so that health care services can be provided to the vulnerable elderly.

• 보건행정학회지
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• 제30권4호
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• pp.467-478
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• 2020

Background: The purpose of this study is to explain the factors influencing the incurrence of catastrophic health expenditure of national health insurance households using panel data observed over a long period. Methods: The study targeted 3,652 households who had no censoring during the 11-year survey period (2007-2017) and householders whose insurance type was consistently maintained as national health insurance. Generalized estimating equations were adopted to identify factors affecting the occurrence of catastrophic health expenditure at 20%, 30%, and 40% threshold levels. A subgroup analysis was conducted by categorizing groups depending on the existence of the elderly in the household. Results: For the last 11 years, the incidence of catastrophic health expenditure in the households without the elderly decreased slightly at all threshold levels, but the households with the elderly seemed to be increased. At baseline, household type showed a statistically significant relationship with all other variables. The results of generalized estimating equations analyses show that household income was not significant at all threshold levels in the households without elderly. On the other hand, in the households with the elderly, the 2nd (odds ratio [OR], 1.33-2.05) and 3rd quintile groups (OR, 1.25-2.55) were more likely to have catastrophic health expenditure compared to the 1st quintile of household income group. Conclusion: As the amount of health expenditures relative to the ability to pay is increasing in households with the elderly, the application of an intervention followed by consistent monitoring is needed. This study found that there were differences in influencing factors according to the presence of the elderly in the households. In particular, in households with the elderly, interesting results have been drawn regarding the occurrence of catastrophic health expenditure in the near-poor, so additional research is required.

• 한국실내디자인학회논문집
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• 제25권6호
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• pp.98-105
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• 2016

China has already entered the aging society and is predicted to become a super-aged society in 2020. The recent studies identified that the elderly has more interest in 'Aging-in-Place' which emphasizes deinstitutionalization since welfare facilities such as care homes and silver towns have separated the elderly from their local communities where they used to live in. The aim of this research is to propose a promising way for smart housing services who support the elderly's living in their homes, China. This research is to investigate the elderly's life and to identify their demands on housings for implementing such smart services. The elderly's living in apartments in Luoyang city, China, were investigated through interviews using a questionnaire survey. The results show that smart housing services should be provided to support the elderly's health, safety, leisure activities, comfortable living, and social relationships sustainably. In addition, such smart housing services should be intuitive since the elderly need to use easily smart services for their autonomous life in their homes. The smart housing services should be developed in the direction of enhancing the elderly's healthy and desirable life, and lessening their discomforts due to aging.

• 한국치위생학회지
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• 제21권1호
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• pp.65-76
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• 2021

Objectives: In an aging society, the demand for dental medical institutions among the elderly is increasing. There will be an increased demand for high-quality oral health services. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate factors influencing attitudes toward the elderly of Generation Z dental hygiene students. Methods: The participants in this study were 198 dental hygiene students. The survey was conducted from June 1 to 30, 2020, using a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of knowledge (24 items), attitude (20 items), and experience (11 items) of the elderly. The collection data were compared and analyzed using analysis of variance and multiple regression. Results: Factors influencing attitudes toward the elderly of dental hygiene students appeared positive in those with a lot of experience and higher knowledge of social area, in case of one grade. However, the attitude toward the elderly appears negative in those with a low knowledge of physical area. Conclusions: In order to improve Generation Z dental hygiene students' attitudes towards the elderly, it is necessary to develop a course related to the elderly and a program related to high-quality elderly contact experience opportunities. Socially, it is necessary to promote healthy elderly life through internet broadcasting and YouTube.

• 한국의류산업학회지
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• 제22권2호
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• pp.202-208
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• 2020

This study is to help produce highly comfortable and wearable and footwear based on the establishment of basic data for manufacturing elderly footwear patterns and products. For this, a survey of 207 women in their 20s and 60-70s was conducted to identify the wearing of shoes, inconvenience areas, purchase practices and footwear preferences by age group. The results are as follows. First, the average age of the young female group was 22.5 years old, the elderly female group was 68.8 years old, and the average shoe size was 236.3 mm for the young female group and 238.3 mm for the elderly female group. Second, young women wore shoes for a longer time than elderly women, resulting in swollen and numb legs, hardened soles, uncomfortable toes and sore heels. However, elderly women felt more uncomfortable wearing footwear than young women. They suffered pain in the joint area, heal and toe areas as well as had more toe deformations due to aging. Third, all age groups preferred athletic shoes and loafers as well as purchases from footwear brand stores and department stores. The elderly spent more money on shoes, longer time to buy and valued the feeling of wearing, whereas the young considered design first. Fourth, both age groups prefer low-heels and natural leather, the young preferred to wear various types of shoes; however, the elderly are found to desire shoes that are comfortable and stable in both form and wearing.

• 대한통합의학회지
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• 제8권4호
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• pp.67-77
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• 2020

Purpose : Recently, Korea has entered an aging society due to the steadily increasing proportion of the elderly population. Additionally, elderly suicidal rate in Korea is the highest among OECD member countries. Because old age is a time when all functions are weakened physically, mentally, and socially, negative experiences, including depression and poor quality of life in the elderly, may lead to suicidal intentions. This study attempts to understand the relationship between depression and quality of life experienced by the elderly and their suicidal intentions. Methods : The survey was conducted from January 2 to March 31, 2019 by administering a questionnaire targeting people aged ≥ 65 years, who were registered at public health centers located in U-city, Gyeonggi-do. In total, 1,015 copies of data were used for the final analysis. The collected data were analyzed using the SPSS/WIN 23.0 program. The χ2 test was performed to investigate the relationship between the demographic characteristics and the suicidal intentions of the elderly subjects. The t-test was performed to determine the relationship between suicidal intentions, depression, and quality of life in elderly subjects. Results : The study results revealed that 168 people (16.6 %) had thought of suicide and 3.2 % had actually tried to commit suicide. The reasons for suicidal thoughts were family problems in 60 (5.6 %), economic problems in 49 (4.6 %), and physical illness in 44 (4.1 %). Those with suicidal intentions had higher levels of depression (t=11.712, p<.001) and higher quality of life scores (t=-9.565, p<.001). Conclusion : Based on these results, it is proposed that a suicide prevention policy and program that can improve the elderly's depression and quality of life is necessary.

• 실천공학교육논문지
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• 제15권3호
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• pp.761-770
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• 2023

COVID-19가 유행을 선언한 시기인 2020년부터 3개년의 지역사회건강조사 자료를 활용하여 노인 우울에 영향을 미치는 요인을 파악하고자 실시하였다. 노인 220,921명 대상으로 일반적 특성, 건강행태 및 주관적 건강수준, 의료 이용에 따른 우울의 차이는 복합표본 t-test, ANOVA를 이용하여 분석하였고, 우울에 영향을 미치는 요인을 확인하기 위해 다중회귀분석을 실시하였다. 연구결과 우울수준은 남성노인 1.21±0.01, 여성노인 1.74±0.02로 여성노인이 더 높게 나타났고, 차이를 보인 변수는 세대유형에서 남성노인은 1세대, 여성노인은 3세대일 때 우울이 더 높게 나타났다. 우울에 영향력이 큰 변수는 우울 경험과 스트레스인지로 나타났다.

• 로봇학회논문지
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• 제15권2호
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• pp.160-168
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• 2020

There exists a popular belief that the elderly are more conservative than the younger people in acceptability of new technology. This study explores whether the generation gap in technology acceptance exists in the case of using telepresence robots, which project the presence and mobility of remote operator, for the universal purpose of social participation rather than for specific applications. Two groups of senior citizens and undergraduate students in their twenties personally experienced the telepresence robots operation and conducted a survey on how they perceived the social participation of a remote operator mediated by telepresence robot and to what extent the remote operator deserve equal rights to be treated as if one really exists in the local environment. The results show that the elderly have higher expectation on the role and functions of telepresence robots, and more favorable in principle for a remote operator to exercise equal rights by operating telepresence robot. It suggests that the stereotypes, the elderly lag behind younger generation in accepting new technology, is unlikely to fit into the telepresence robot market, for the elderly have more favor and support using telepresence robots as an universal avatar for social participation.