• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.251-265
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• 2023

The purpose of this study is to deduce key indicators in evaluating the pedestrian environment for the elderly in Busan, which has entered an aging society, and to propose policy improvement measures. The key indicators were selected based on prior research and surveys, and the effectiveness of those indicators were measured through evaluations conducted on three places which have the highest proportion of the elderly population in Busan. The summaries of analysis are as follow. First, the three places are hillslide residential areas, and areas of activity that the elderly have were very narrow due to the restrictions on their movement caused by slope. Second, the areas were filled with a number of illegally parked vehicles. And the degree of segregation of pedestrian and vehicle and the level of safety were very low. Third, the streets with steep slopes of the target site force the elderly to move vertically, and for this reason, the elderly are expressing difficulties in outdoor activities. Fourth, it was found that the target site lacked a space for relaxation during outdoor activities. The poor walking environment not only limit the essential and social activities of the elderly, but also adversely affects the health and quality of life of the elderly. In order to maintain the health of the elderly and improve the quality of life, actions should be taken to improve the walking factors that affect the movement and external activities of the elderly.

• Information Systems Review
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.59-81
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• 2023

Elderly suicide problem has become worse in South Korea. With a rapid aging of the population, the trend of suicide among the elderly is expected to accelerate, preventing elderly suicide has been considered an important societal problem. Thus, we aim to investigate various factors that explain suicidal ideation and to develop a predictive model for suicidal ideation in the context of elderly people in South Korea. To this end, this study contributes to addressing the elderly suicide problem. By using seven-year panel data from the Korea Welfare Panel Survey, we extract various potential causal factors for elderly suicidal ideation based on interpersonal theory of suicide and social disorganization theory. Then a panel logit model was employed to assess the impacts of potential factors on suicidal ideation and deep learning and machine learning algorithms were used to develop a predictive model for suicidal ideation of elderly people. The results of our study provide practical implications for preventing elderly suicide by identifying causal factors of suicidal ideation and a high suicidal risk group of the elderly. This study sheds light on synergy of mixed methodology and provides various academic implications.

• The Journal of The Korea Institute of Intelligent Transport Systems
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.15-31
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• 2024

The characteristics of elderly traffic accidents were identified by reflecting the situation of the elderly population in Korea, which is entering an ultra-aging society, and the relationship between independent and dependent variables was analyzed by classifying traffic accidents of serious or higher and traffic accidents of minor or lower in elderly pedestrian traffic accidents using binomial variables. Data collection, processing, and variable selection were performed by acquiring data from the elderly pedestrian traffic accident analysis system (TAAS) for the past 10 years (from 13 to 22 years), and basic statistics and analysis by accident factors were performed. A total of 15 influencing variables were derived by applying the logistic regression model, and the influencing variables that have the greatest influence on the probability of a traffic accident involving severe or higher elderly pedestrians were derived. After that, statistical tests were performed to analyze the suitability of the logistic model, and a method for predicting the probability of a traffic accident according to the construction of a prediction model was presented.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.10-19
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• 2024

The purpose of this study is to conduct a summative evaluation of the usability of a general-purpose ventilator to determine whether it can be used for its intended purpose in the intended environment by the intended user and to find possible errors in use. The importance of ventilators has increased due to the accelerated aging of the population and the impact of the pandemic. In addition, patients who require ventilators are often in critical condition, so even a small error in use can be fatal. Therefore, it is important to ensure that the ventilator has sufficient stability and can be used satisfactorily without inconvenience to the user. In this study, we conducted a usability test with 17 respiratory nurses with more than 3 years of experience using the ventilator. We analyzed the task success rate, satisfaction, and opinions of the intended users while going through a total of 17 scenarios. Satisfaction was captured through an ASQ questionnaire and subjective opinions were captured through a detailed opinion questionnaire. The results showed a high level of satisfaction with an average score of 6.3 for the use scenarios. Evaluators expressed satisfaction with the overall visibility and versatility of the features, but noted that improvements were needed for calibration tasks with low task success rates. As the calibration method is different from other equipment, it was suggested that specific explanations of the calibration method and the picture that appears when calibrating are needed, and that if relevant training is provided, the equipment can be used without problems. If the usability evaluation is not limited to securing efficiency and satisfaction from the intended users, but also continuously receives feedback from users to prepare for use in emergency environments such as pandemic situations, it will be very helpful to seize opportunities such as emergency authorization in future situations, and ultimately contribute to patient safety by reducing use errors.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.273-275
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• 2017

It has been forty years since the implementation of National Health Insurance (NHI) in South Korea. Following the 1977 legislature mandating medical insurance for employees and dependents in firms with more than 500 employees, South Korea expanded its health insurance to urban residents in 1989. Resultantly, total expenses of the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) have greatly increased from 4.5 billion won in 1977 to 50.89 trillion won in 2016. With multiple insurers merging into the NHI system in 2000, a single-payer healthcare system emerged, along with separation policy of prescribing and dispensing. Following such reform, an emerging financial crisis required injections from the National Health Promotion Fund. Forty years following the introduction of the NHI system, both praise and criticism have been drawn. In just 12 years, the NHI achieved the fastest health population coverage in the world. Current medical expenditure is not high relative to the rest of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The quality of acute care in Korea is one of the best in the world. There is no sign of delayed diagnosis and/or treatment for most diseases. However, the NHI has been under-insured, requiring high-levels of out-of-pocket money from patients and often causing catastrophic medical expenses. Furthermore, the current environmental circumstances of the NHI are threatening its sustainability. Low birth rate decline, as well as slow economic growth, will make sustainment of the current healthcare system difficult in the near future. An aging population will increase the amount of medical expenditure required, especially with the baby-boomer generation of those born between 1955 and 1965. Meanwhile, there is always the problem of unification for the Korean Peninsula, and what role the health insurance system will have to play when it occurs. In the presidential election, health insurance is a main issue; however, there is greater focus on expansion and expenditure than revenue. Many aspects of Korea's NHI system (1977) were modeled after the German (1883) and Japanese (1922) systems. Such systems were created during an era where infections disease control was most urgent and thus, in the current non-communicable disease (NCD) era, must be redesigned. The Korean system, which is already forty years old, must be redesigned completely. Although health insurance benefit expansion is necessary, financial measures, as well as moral hazard control measures, must also be considered. Ultimately, there are three aspects that we must consider when attempting redesign of the system. First, the health security system must be reformed. NHI and Medical Aid must be amalgamated into one system for increased effectiveness and efficiency of the system. Within the single insurer system of the NHI must be an internal market for maximum efficiency. The NHIS must be separated into regions so that regional organizers have greater responsibility over their actions. Although insurance must continue to be imposed nationally, risk-adjustment must be distributed regionally and assessed by different regional systems. Second, as a solution for the decreasing flow of insurance revenue, low premium level must be increased to an appropriate level. Likewise, the national reserve fund (No. 36, National Health Insurance Act) must be enlarged for re-unification preparation. Third, there must be revolutionary reform of benefit package. The current system built a focus on communicable diseases which is inappropriate in this NCD era. Medical benefits must not be one-time events but provide chronic disease management. Chronic care models, accountable care organization, patient-centered medical homes, and other systems that introduce various benefit packages for beneficiaries must be implemented. The reimbursement system of medical costs should be introduced to various systems for different types of care, as is the case with part C (Medicare Advantage Program) of America's Medicare system that substitutes part A and part B. Pay for performance must be expanded so that there is not only improvement in quality of care but also medical costs. Moreover, beneficiaries of the NHI system must be aware of the amount of their expenditure through a deductible payment system so that spending can be profiled and monitored. The Moon Jae-in Government has announced its plans to expand the NHI system; however, it is important that a discussion forum is created so that more accurate analysis of the NHI, its environments, and current status of health care system, can take place for reforming NHI.

• Korea journal of population studies
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.58-81
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• 1987

The purpose of this study is to examine major factors that affect patterns of living arrangements of older Korean noncitizens in the United States using the 1990 8% Public Use Microdata Sample(PUMS). In order to do so, I analyzed the effects of four factors including acculturation(English proficiency and Age at migration), economic circumstances(Personal Income and Supplemental Security Income: SSI receipt), health status(Mobility and Personal care limitation), and the ethnic community. The results show that acculturation and economic circumstances play an important role in determining the patterns of living arrangements among older Korean aliens, whereas the health status and the ethnic community do not show consistent effects. Regardless of marital status, the impact of age at migration is positively associated with solitary living of older Korean noncitizens, though, the effect of English proficiency show the opposite direction in accordance with marital status. That is, among nonmarried elders, those who cannot speak English are more likely to live alone. The case is reverse for married elders. The impact of economic feasibility is also positively associated with independent living arrangements. Those who receive SSI are much more likely to live apart from family, and elders whose annual personal income between $5,001 and $10,000 have the greatest propensity of solitary living-a large proportion of their income source is SSI. Individuals who receive SSI are also qualified to collect Medicaid, food stamps, rent subsidies, and other welfare benefits. In a sense, the economic feasibility provided by welfare benefits is the key determinant of independent living of older Korean noncitizens. Therefore, the recent welfare reform which denies legal aliens welfare benefits such as SSI and food stamps will severly affect the present living arrangements of older Korean aliens, and give economic burden to their family member The findings also show that there are significant differences within the elderly Korean Americans in terms of demographics, income, fertility, health status, and patterns of living arrangements by U.S. citizenship status. In particular, after controlling for age at migration as a proxy for acculturation, there is a statistically significant variation in living arrangements between elderly Korean noncitizens and naturalized citizens. For both theoretical and methodological reasons, future research on minority aging needs to investigate the concept of U.S. citizenship status for its impact on patterns of living arrangements among the minority elderly.

• Korea journal of population studies
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.99-134
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• 1997

The purpose of this study is to examine major factors that affect patterns of living arrangements of older Korean noncitizens in the United States using the 1990 8% Public Use Microdata Sample(PUMS). In order to do so, I analyzed the effects of four factors including acculturation(English proficiency and Age at migration), economic circumstances(Personal Income and Supplemental Security Income: SSI receipt), health status(Mobility and Personal care limitation), and the ethnic community. The results show that acculturation and economic circumstances play an important role in determining the patterns of living arrangements among older Korean aliens, whereas the health status and the ethnic community do not show consistent effects. Regardless of marital status, the impact of age at migration is positively associated with solitary living of older Korean noncitizens, though, the effect of English proficiency show the opposite direction in accordance with marital status. That is, among nonmarried elders, those who cannot speak English are more likely to live alone. The case is reverse for married elders. The impact of economic feasibility is also positively associated with independent living arrangements. Those who receive SSI are much more likely to live apart from family, and elders whose annual personal income between $5, 001 and $10, 000 have the greatest propensity of solitary living-a large proportion of their income source is SSI. Individuals who receive SSI are also qualified to collect Medicaid, food stamps, rent subsidies, and other welfare benefits. In a sense, the economic feasibility provided by welfare benefits is the key determinant of independent living of older Korean noncitizens. Therefore, the recent welfare reform which denies legal aliens welfare benefits such as SSI and food stamps will severly affect the present living arrangements of older Korean aliens, and give economic burden to their family member The findings also show that there are significant differences within the elderly Korean Americans in terms of demographics, income, fertility, health status, and patterns of living arrangements by U.S. citizenship status. In particular, after controlling for age at migration as a proxy for acculturation, there is a statistically significant variation in living arrangements between elderly Korean noncitizens and naturalized citizens. For both theoretical and methodological reasons, future research on minority aging needs to investigate the concept of U.S. citizenship status for its impact on patterns of living arrangements among the minority elderly.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.109-121
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• 1991

To investigate the period prevalence rate and therapeutic practic for low back pain (LBP) in the adult population of rural area, a personal interview was conducted for 2.024 persons or 20-59 years old in Seohu Myon, Andong County, Kyungpook Province between 1st and 20th of April, 1991. The period prevalence rate (l February 1990-31 January 1991) of LBP for 1,106 adults who were interviewed was $47.9\%$. The age adjusted period prevalence rate for males was $43.7\%$ and that for females was $52.3\%$ and the difference was statistically significant (p<0.005). Clinical course of th LBP was acute in $14.1\%$ of males and $9.0\%$ of females, recurrent in $57.0\%$ and $55.2\%$, and chronic in $28.9\%$ and $35.8\%$, respectively. Common causes of the LBP were insidious on set with aging without known cause$(48.1\%)$, heavy work $(15.1\%)$, and trauma $(11.3\%)$. Due to LBP $12.5\%$ of the patients were not able to stand or walk for more than an hour and $2.5\%$ were bed-ridden or unable to carry out daily routine. To have the LBP diagnosed $10.2\%$ of the patients utilized a oriental medical clinic or hospital, $31.3\%$ visited a clinic or hospital, and $56.6\%$ hat not utilized any medical facility. Main reason for not having the LBP diagnosed was that the LBP was tolerable. The most popular therapeutic method that the LBP patients chose at the first was drug and physical therapy. Herb medicine was most commonly used when the first therapeutic method was not effective and the acupuncture was the most popular choice of therapy when the second therapeutic method failed. Folk medicine was utilized in $15.5\%$ of the LBP patients and it included 36 regimens such as tincture of motherwort (Leonurus sibiricus), boiled chicken with liquor, etc. It was revealed by this survey that the LBP is a serious health problem in the rural area and many of the LBP patients do not utilize a clinic or hospital but take non-scientific folk remedy. To prevent the economic waste and side effects of the folk remedy, public health education is needed for tile rational therapy of LBP.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2019.09a
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• pp.5-5
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• 2019

The objectives of this paper are (i) to analyze past trends and future directions of rice production, consumption and trade across the world and (ii) to discuss emerging challenges and future directions in the global rice industry. Rice is a staple food of over half of the world's 7.7 billion people. It is an important economic, social, political, and cultural commodity in most Asian countries. Rice is the $1^{st}$ most widely consumed, $2^{nd}$ largely produced, and $3^{rd}$ most widely grown food crop in the world. It was cultivated by 144 million farms in over 100 countries with harvested area of over 163 million ha producing about 745 million tons paddy in 2018. About 90% of the total rice is produced in Asia. China and India, the biggest rice producers, account for over half of the world's rice production. Between 1960 and 2018, world rice production increased over threefold from 221 to 745 million tons (2.1% per year) due to area expansion from 120 to 163 million ha (0.5% per year) and paddy yield increase from 1.8 to 4.6 t/ha (1.6% per year). The Green Revolution led massive increase in rice production prevented famines, provided food for millions of people, reduced poverty and hunger, and improved livelihoods of millions of Asians. The future increase in rice production must come from yield increase as the scope for area expansion is limited. Rice is the most widely consumed food crop. The world's average per capita milled rice consumption is 64 kilograms providing 19% of daily calories. Asia accounted for 84% of global consumption followed by Africa (7%), South America (3%), and the Middle East (2%). Asia's per capita rice consumption is 100 kilograms per year providing 28% of daily calories. The global and Asian per capita consumption increased from the 1960s to the 1990s but stable afterward. The per capita rice consumption is expected to decline in Asia but increase outside Asia especially in Africa in the future. The total milled rice consumption was about 490 million tons in 2018 and projected to reach 550 million tons by 2030 and 590 million tons by 2040. Rice is thinly traded in international market because it is a highly protected commodity. Only about 9% of the total production is traded in global rice market. However, the volume of global rice trade has increased over six-fold from 7.5 to 46.5 million tons between the 1960s and 2018. A relatively small number of exporting countries interact with a large number of importing countries. The top five rice exporting countries are India, Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan, and China accounting for 74% of the global rice export. The top five rice importing countries are China, Philippines, Nigeria, European Union and Saudi Arabia accounting for 26% of the global rice import. Within rice varieties, Japonica rice accounts for the highest share of the global rice trade (about 12%) followed by Basmati rice (about 10%). The high concentration of exports to a few countries makes international rice market vulnerable to supply disruptions in exporting countries, leading to higher world prices of rice. The export price of Thai 5% broken rice increased from 198 US$/ton in 2000 to 421 US$/ton in 2018. The volumes of trade and rice prices in the global market are expected to increase in the future. The major future challenges of the rice industry are increasing demand due to population growth, rising demand in Africa, economic growth and diet diversification, competition for natural resources (land and water), labor scarcity, climate change and natural hazards, poverty and inequality, hunger and malnutrition, urbanization, low income in rice farming, yield saturation, aging of farmers, feminization of agriculture, health and environmental concerns, improving value chains, and shifting donor priorities away from agriculture. At the same time, new opportunities are available due to access to new technologies, increased investment by the private sector, and increased global partnership. More investment in rice research and development is needed to develop and disseminate innovative technologies and practices to overcome problems and ensure food and nutrition security of the future population.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.61 no.4
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• pp.605-614
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• 2022

Two major problems currently threaten human survival on Earth: climate change and the rapid aging of the population in developed countries. Climate change is a result of the increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations in the atmosphere due to the increase in the use of fossil fuels owing to economic and transportation development. The rapid increase in the age of the population is a result of the rise in life expectancy due to the development of biomedical science and technology and the improvement of personal hygiene in developed countries. To avoid irreversible global climate change, it is necessary to quickly transition from the current fossil fuel-based economy to a zero-carbon renewable energy-based economy that does not emit GHGs. To achieve this goal, the dairy and livestock industry, which generates the most GHGs in the agricultural sector, must transition to using low-carbon emission production methods while simultaneously increasing consumers' preference for low-carbon diets. Although 77% of currently available arable land globally is used to produce livestock feed, only 37% and 18% of the proteins and calories that humans consume come from dairy and livestock farming and industry. Therefore, using edible insects as a protein source represents a good alternative, as it generates less GHG and reduces water consumption and breeding space while ensuring a higher feed conversion rate than that of livestock. Additionally, utilizing the functionality of medicinal insects, such as silkworms, which have been proven to have certain health enhancement effects, it is possible to develop functional foods that can prevent or delay the onset of currently incurable degenerative diseases that occur more frequently in the elderly. Insects are among the first animals to have appeared on Earth, and regardless of whether humans survive, they will continue to adapt, evolve, and thrive. Therefore, the use of various edible and medicinal insects, including silkworms, in industry will provide an important foundation for human survival and prosperity on Earth in the near future by resolving the current two major problems.