• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.43-60
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to investigate what life safety services the elderly living alone in rural areas need and to propose the life safety services that they actually need. The research subjects were 1,000 people aged 65 years and over living in the rural areas of Korea. Among the total 1,000 respondents, 283 elderly people who did not live together with their married children were included in this study. Data were analyzed through frequency analysis, descriptive statistics, and multiple regression analysis. The results of this study were as follows. First, the needs of health care services and vehicle support services (when the elderly went to the hospital or walked out) were high. These were services related to health, which means that the health of the elderly is not good and that they are interested in health. Of course, it is important to treat the disease. However, it is more important to prevent disease and maintain health. An expansion of these services is urgently needed. Second, the need for life safety services was affected by the frequency of contact with neighbors, uncomfortable housing, exercise, the frequency of contact with children, gas accidents, and nutrition variables. Through this analysis, we propose to include the housing improvement service, nutrition improvement services, and expanding social relations services in the life safety services.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.831-850
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• 2016

The ratio of suicide among the elderly in Korea has nearly tripled within the last 20 years. With this in mind, this study examined the effects of social exclusion on depression and suicidal ideation among the elderly living in elderly-only households with a focus on gender differences. Social exclusion is composed of economic, health, housing, education, social participation, and relational aspects. For this study, data were gathered from 527 participants aged 65 years and over. The statistical methods used for data analysis were descriptive statistics, chi-square test, t-test, and hierarchical regression analysis with the SPSS Win 20.0 program. The results of this study are summarized as follows: First, more than 80% of the elderly experienced social exclusion. Women were shown to be more vulnerable than men in terms of housing exclusion, educational exclusion, health exclusion, and multiple exclusion, whereas men were more vulnerable than women in terms of social participation exclusion. Second, social exclusion had significant effects on suicidal ideation among the Korean elderly. We also observed gender differences in the results. Regression analysis of suicidal ideation showed that relational exclusion had a significant effect on suicidal ideation in men, whereas health exclusion had a significant effect on suicidal ideation in women. Results of the study show that stronger social support networks and policies focusing on the elderly are needed in order to reduce elderly suicide in Korea.

• Korean Institute of Interior Design Journal
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.3-12
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• 2016

This study analyses characteristics of space to facilitate community centering on cases of collective houses in Japan and uses the results as basic data to activate collective houses as an alternative form of housing in our country. To identify the characteristics of space for active communities with collective living space, this study conducted a theoretical examination on collective houses and housing, derived territoriality, accessibility, comfort and safety as factors of community activation and analysed various cases, and the results are presented as follows: First, territoriality is a necessary condition for formation of community, and a confined and physical space. It indicates the proper size of a space and diverse spacial areas which meet the needs of residents with the proper size and amount of space (space which can accommodate diverse generations including women, the aged and the young, flexible space which changes according to the purposes and program, space which supports leisure and hobby activities, and space which can accommodate outsiders). Second, accessibility indicates an environment which supports residents' easy use of space. As the more accessible it is, the higher the frequency of its use, spatial factors (piloti, backyards, benches and tables) should be provided, community space should be arranged in a central or decentralized way and community living space should be made for each floor. As for exits, accessibility should be considered in every way; entrances connected with community spaces, open entrances and entrances accessible from outside or individual living spaces. Third, comfort satisfies the physical and mental needs of residents through separation of floors and flows between the community and individual spaces for privacy and formation of eco-friendly spaces including vegetable gardens, gardens and plant arrangements. Fourth, safety should be considered for a higher quality environment with psychological stability and comfort, for which the following are recommended: installation of hand-rails, removal of thresholds, spacial design for the socially weak, duplex and open type structures for community space, open stages and halls, as well as indoor and outdoor openness through the use of windows.

• Korean Institute of Interior Design Journal
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.56-64
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• 2016

Housing for the elderly should be planned on the base of elder's needs and preferences as well as their physical, emotional, and socio-psychological characteristics. This study examined the interior style of bedroom and living room the elderly preferred and these preferences are significantly different depending on their characteristics and cognitive ages, or not. This study was carried out by face to face interview with a questionnaire and 6 colored printed 3D images. The subjects were 202 old aged who lives in Busan. The interior style of bedroom and living room were classified into 3 styles; Korean traditional style, Western classical style, and modern style. The subjects made a choice their preferred interior style among three 3D images per each room and answered the reasons. Also, they answered their cognitive ages and general characteristics, and their preferences for the layout of living room-dining room-kitchen, use pattern, floor finishes, and furniture of bedroom and living room. The results were as follows; 1) The subjects preferred bed in bedroom and sofa in living room. Also, they wanted to finish the floor of bedroom and living room by using synthetic material, traditional floor paper, and wood. 2) The elderly preferred Western classical style of bedroom. The reasons were general mood such as warm, comfort, or bright, and the color. 3) These preferred styles were not any significant differences according to their characteristics and cognitive ages. 4) They preferred Korean traditional style, Western classical style, and modern style, in order. They preferred them for their general mood and window. 5) Their preferred styles were significantly different according to their housing types and cognitive ages.

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.81-89
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• 2014

Purpose : An aging phenomenon was recognized as only negative aspect, which impediment a development with the decrease of a developing population and increase of social burden. Nevertheless, the problem of aging cannot be treated as a problem of individuals or social burden. Because Every mankind sometime will be the person directly involved the aging. Methods : Korea, predict to reach the aging society with over 20 percent of elderly in the whole population in 2020, should find an active political plan for responding. Because a previous discussion about the aging phenomenon focused on social welfare, the housing plan for the elderly with a consideration of the physical environment for sustaining elderly's life with happiness will be primary task. Results : This research considers housing policy, focusing on the medical service. It is because statistics, which 85 percent of elderly people suffer from chronic diseases because of physical aging signify the importance of medical service to the elderly in every-day-life. Implications : We prescribe the elderly as a population over 65. In this duration, the elderly retirees from the workplace e and spend the majority of time in their home. Thus, for the elderly, the residential space is a field of action and passageway connecting with the surroundings For the solution of physical space preparing the aging phenomenon, the combination of residential and medical function creates a new type of a lifestyle.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.233-246
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• 2013

This paper investigates both the spatial patterns of aging population and its formal regional structure in 2010. The results are as follows: first, aging index shows high values in remote mountainous and coastal regions while showing relatively low values in Capital Region and large provincial cities. Aging index has low negative correlation with such variables as population increasing rate, ratio of youth population, ratio of apartments, and ratio of newly built housing. However, aging index shows high positive correlation with variables including ratio of single unit house, ratio of aged peoples' house ownerships, ratio of welfare recipients, ratio of old housing, and number of public healthcare facilities. Secondly, four factors are identified from factor analysis including aging factor, welfare factor, economic vitality factor, and new town factor. The aging level of a region is negatively related to the strong level of those factors. Thirdly, cluster analysis results in four different types of formal regions including rural mountainous coastal type, rural non-capital region type, large metropolitan type, and provincial industrial city type.

• Journal of the Korean housing association
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.93-103
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• 2014

The objective of the present study is to investigate healing design attributes for adolescent patients and to identify the relationship among healing design attributes and the meaning of home. This study examined the environmental preferences of American adolescents for hospital rooms to investigate age-appropriate healing design attributes. The health-related quality of life (HRQOL) concept was adapted to this study as a theoretical framework. One hundred six American adolescents participated in the survey. Participant adolescents consisted of two groups by their health status: forty-seven adolescent patients who were waiting for their surgical operations in waiting rooms and fifty-nine healthy high school students while they were at school. Participants aged in range from 14-year to 18-year olds with a mean of 16-year olds. Data collection consisted of two different instruments: Emotional state survey with demographics and environmental preference survey. Environmental values that are important to adolescents were control of privacy, having outside view, and quiet places to go. However, staying in a single-bed room for hospitalization is ranked the lowest score for the participating adolescents. Adolescents who perceived higher stress level preferred to have quiet places to go, to control over privacy and to have outside view significantly. The study resulted that the most important design attribute for American Adolescents was "privacy control", which is the essence of the meaning of home. There are some significant discrepancies in environmental preferences of hospital rooms by different genders and different health status.

• Journal of the Korean housing association
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.93-103
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• 2008

The tendency of having fewer or no children and increasing number of single household will make the protection of the elderly with geriatric disease even harder in the future. Nursing home can provide long-term care for those who can-not be cared by the family. Korean government has been changing welfare policy for the elderly to cope with the changing needs of them regarding nursing home and geriatric disease. Researchers from various field also showed great interest in nursing home. The purpose of this study is to analyze the number and contents of theses and papers regard-ing nursing home in the 12 journals, to find out overall the research streaming of the theme, method, subject, and district of the papers in the journals. Data were collected by using keyword through library database. 246 thesis and 116 papers published from 1990 to 2006 were analyzed in 7 categories, and 66 papers in the journals were used on the content analysis for lading out research streaming. As results, research streaming according to 5 periods were identified. The most frequent subjects of theses regarding nursing home are nursing home systems and policies. Otherwise, the various subjects of papers in the journals have been deal with, especially plans of nursing home and spacial behavior of the elderly and staffs' satisfaction. In the future, the research subjects related to the nursing home should deal with total space plan as living environment for the elderly and work environment for the staffs according to privacy, spatial use and behavior, culture and lifestyle in Korea, and so on.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.195-210
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• 2002

The purpose of this study were to find out the difference of needs of caring between care-givers and non care-givers, and to suggest the way of lessening vigorous task of care-givers for the elderly with dementia. Data were collected from 130 nationwide respondents intentionally divided into two groups; care-givers and non care-givers in the middle aged with middle and upper income. Collected data were analyzed by frequency, percentage, t-test using SPSS package. Since the result of survey, unexpectedly, showed no difference between two groups, it could be explained as that these two groups commonly had same needs of caring for the elderly with dementia. Major findings were as follow; 1) Most Koreans stiff thought family should be the main care-giver for the elderly with dementia prior to nation or society. 2) Responsibility of caring for the elderly with dementia would be better to be shared with children instead of focusing to a child. 3) They thought ideal residential facilities for the elderly with dementia were small-scale professional dementia facility(group home) rather than home or general elderly housing. 4) Professional dementia care hospital was one of the most needed facilities for the elderly with dementia, followed by short-stay and dar-care center. 5) It was revealed care-giving task was vigorous showing that most care-givers spent 1-5 hours a day for caring, while 13% of respondents spent 11-24 hours a duty. 6) 90% of care-givers took the responsibility of main care-giver because of duty of offsprings or spouses, and wanted to be free from their current circumstances. From the result of this survey researchers would like to suggest the establishment of diverse facilities for professional dementia care to lessen the caring burden for the elderly with dementia: group home, chronic hospital, short-stay, day-care center. Financial support from the government for the housing renovation of the caring families should be considered seriously afterward. It is needed to give the opportunity to select proper paid dementia care facilities according to their income and situation of household.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.107-127
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• 2011

The purpose of this study is to examine demographic characteristics, psychological characteristics and patterns of supportive relationships with their children that affect the successful lives of the elderly. A survey was conducted of 410 people aged between 65 and 85, and 405 samples were used for the analysis. First, the supportive relation between the elderly and their children was categorized into four groups depending on the total amount and direction of support. The four groups consisted of the elderly who exchanged little or no support, those who only received support from their children, those who only gave support, and those who both gave and received support. Second, the more the elderly exchanged support and gave emotional support to their children, the better the chance that the elderly would lead a successful life in later years. Third, subjective health conditions most significantly affected the successful lives of the elderly who exchanged little or no support. The level of education was most significant for the elderly who only received support. The level of housing satisfaction mostly affected the elderly who only gave support. Mutual support primarily affected the elderly who both gave and received. Thus, we should provide health programs for the elderly who exchange little or no support to encourage a healthier lifestyle. In addition, opportunities for continuing education should be provided for the elderly who only receive support to make up any deficiency in education. Because spouses are mostly affected for those elderly who exchange little or no support and the elderly who only receive support, we should provide educational programs about how to be better lifetime companions to each other and also provide medical and in-home care for the remaining spouse even after the other partner is gone. Because housing satisfaction greatly affects the elderly who only give support, improvements in the residential environment are essential. Since the level of mutual support is crucial to the elderly who both give and receive support, programs on the development of human resources are needed for the elderly to interact dynamically and intimately with their children.