• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.648-667
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• 2002

This was a descriptive study designed to identify the level of coping method and its influencing factors on the family caregivers of demented patients, and resolve the family caregivers' level of stress. The data were collected from September 10 to October 10, 2001. Subjects for this study were recruited from four clinics, which were chosen from 15 clinics located in Chunbuk-Do as the study sites because of their cooperation for the study. They were similar in terms of size, the characteristics of the local community. and the population and registration status of the demented patients. The instruments used for the study were as follows: 1. Problematic behaviors of demented patients are measured by the Memory and Behavior Problem Checklist (Zarit, 1980), and the Linguistic Communication Symptoms Questionnaire (Bayles and Tomoeda, 1991) 2. The ability to carry out daily activities was measured using the Barthel Index (1965) and Katz Index (1963), which as well-known ADL assessment methods. 3. Burden was measured using Cost of Care Index by the Kosberg and Cairl (1986). 4. Coping strategy was measured Bell's 18 methods (1977). The data were analyzed using SPSS/PC. The study results were as follows: 1. The total stress score was 2.90 out of a maximum score of 5. The highest score reported was 3.09 on the dimension of restriction of individual and social activities, and the lowest region reported was 2.58 on the dimension of mental and physical health. 2. The total score of the coping method was 2.65 out of a maximum score of 5. The highest score reported was 4.01 on the dimension of thinking that includes an ideation such that it is better than any possible worst case, and the lowest score reported was 1.45 on the dimension of the self-image as a scapegoat. 3. There were significant differences in coping method among the subjects by age (F=2.752 p=0.04), caregiver (F=4.33 p=0.003), care-giving period (F=2.68 p=0.049), and dementia stage (F=2.87 p=0.034). 4. There were highly negative correlations ($\gamma$=-0.301 p=0.000) between problematic behaviors of demented patients and the coping method of their family caregivers. The highest correlation coefficient ($\gamma$=-0.339 p=0.000) was found between aggressive behaviors of the demented patients and the coping method of their family caregivers. 5. There was a low negative correlation ($\gamma$=-0.201 p=0.019) between the ADL of the demented patients and the coping method of their family caregivers. 6. There were highly negative correlations ($\gamma$=-0.213 p=0.005) between stress and the coping method of the family caregivers. The highest correlation was found between financial burden ($\gamma$=-.327 P=.000) and the coping method of the family caregivers. There was no significant correlation among unpleasant aspects of the demented patients, willingness to the demented patients, and the coping method of the family caregivers.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.52-67
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• 2007

Korean government is preparing the long-term care financing and delivery system in order to cope with rapid population aging. The system should be designed to provide demented patients with an appropriate services that the patients want to take, and considered to be necessary for them. In this regard, this study aims to analyse empirically a relationship between the types of long-term care services that demented patients wanted to take and they actually received during 2004. The caregivers of 609 dementia patients, who were randomly selected in a manner of proportional allocation from a nationwide claim database of the Korean National Health Insurance Corporation, were interviewed in September, 2005. Independent variables include socio-demographic characteristics, Activities of Daily Living(ADL) and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living(IADL). To explore the correspondence of the types of long-term care services that demented patients wanted to take and that they actually received, and its affecting factors, we conducted chi-square test and logistic regression analysis. Main findings are as follows. First, while only 20% of study subjects wanted home services as a long-term care services, those who wanted to use the long-term care facilities and general hospital were 37%, 43% respectively. Second, the correspondence rate was just 38% on average, and extremely low in the demented patients who wanted to use long-term care facilities. Third, the demented patients who resided in urban areas and received relatively high level of education showed high correspondence rate. Fourth, the high ADL score was closely related to low correspondence rate.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.454-465
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• 2012

Purpose: The aim of this study was to understand the nurses' experiences of caring for demented older persons in geriatric in care facilities. Methods: The subjects were ten nurses employed in geriatric care facilities. Open in-depth interviews were used to collect data from January, 2010 to October, 2010. The Colaizzi phenomenological method was used for data analysis. Results: The experiences of nurses' caring for patients with dementia were divided into the following six categories: 'new encounter', 'understanding of intention and satisfying', 'dilemma of caring', 'contriving of comfort', 'comprehensive coordinator', and 'being present'. There were 15 clusters of themes. The subjects stated that the best caring for the demented older persons were 'encounter, knowing, and being with them'. Conclusion: Nurses' caring could improve the quality of life for demented older patients in geriatric care facility. These results suggest that institutional, administrational strategies and schemes need to cluster around the relationship with patients who would include encounter knowing and being with them.

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.339-357
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• 2009

As quickly becoming an ageing society in Korea, this study aims to investigate how family caregivers' burden with demented patients and social supports are related to their health and quality of life, and the interaction of caregiving burden and social supports on caregivers' health and quality of life. The participants were 207 family caregivers (106 females) of demented patients lived in Seoul, Kyunggi, and Chungcheong areas, whose average of age were 51.62 ( SD=9.25). The psychological tests used in this research included the following: Multidimensional Caregiver Burden Inventory, Chon's Physical Symptom Questionnaire, Hahn & Jang's Perceived Health Inventory, Negative Affect Self-Statement Questionnaire, and the Korean Version of Cambell's Subjective Well-being Scale, Social Support Survey in Medical Outcomes Study, and Kwon's Questionnaire for Maladjusted Problems of Demented. Results indicated that caregivers' burden with demented patient related to physical symptoms and depression positively, and perceived health and subjective well-being negatively. Social supports showed moderate effects on influences of caregiving burden in perceived health, depression, and subjective well-being of family caregivers with demented patients. It was identified the possibility of their buffering effect on negative results of caregiving burden with demented patients. Since caregiving burden accounted for the 34% of the variances for family caregivers' physical symptoms and depression, researchers discussed the promotion and intervention of their health and quality of life. Beside of different effects of social supports with level of caregiving burden, with previous studies it was discussed some saliant findings such as family caregivers with patients who showed severe dementia symptoms were perceiving even less supports from others.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.77-96
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• 1996

The purposes of this study were to understand caregiving situation and to develop education program for families with the demented elderly,. Family caregivers of elderly patients with dementia clearly experience high levels of stress which often leads to such negative caregiver outcomes as depression interference with social activities and health difficulties. That is providing care is stressful for caregivers because the demands of the caregiving situation threaten to overwhelm the caregivers' coping resources. Therfore the families with demented elderly persons need assistances in order to alleviated burden of caregiving, In this study the educational program was designed to increase caregivers' confidence in problem-solving, And it was designed to provided information to demented elderly. The educational program of this study was given 5 session. And it was included the understanding of dementia the family caregiving experiences of the demented elderly persons the time for elf-care the search for helping the improving of interpersonal relations and communications.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.453-469
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• 2000

This study has a purpose to provide information to help develop nursing intervention for demented elderly staying at home. For this purpose I analysed the relationship of patients' disturbing behaviors with their demographic and social characteristics, premorbid personality, and present environmental characteristics through questionnaire survey on their family members. The survey was performed through direct interview, telephone contact. and mail in the regions of Pusan and Gyeongnam. Among family members contacted. 112 ones made an appropriate response to the survey. The statistical package SAS was utilized for descriptive statistics, correlation coefficients, stepwise multiple regression, and cluster analysis. The results of the study were as follows: 1) Demographic and social characteristics of the patients surveyed are female 81.3%, average age 81.4 years, lack of schooling 83.0%, spouse dead 73.2%, having no other disease 58.9%, average duration of dementia 3.8 years, no medical treatment for dementia 84.8%, good married life 40.2%, and primary care given by daughter-in-law 49.1%. 2) Aggressive Psychomotor Behavior(APB) was observed in a way statistically meaningful in case that primary care was given by daughter-in-law, while Nonaggressive Psychomotor Behavior(NPB) was in case of good married life and primary care given by other than daughter-in-law and spouse. Verbally aggressive behavior (VAB) was observed in groups of female, spouse dead, bad married life, and daughter-in-law's primary care. As for Passive Behavior(PB), it was observed in case that patients had educational background of not less high than middle school and that they were having medical treatment. Functionally Impaired Behavior(FIB) was observed in age group of 60-69 and more than 90, in patients' group having no other disease, and in case that the duration of dementia was not less than 5 years. 3) Premobid Neuroticism(N) showed positive correlation with APB and VAB, while Openness (O) did negative correlation with PB. Agreeableness (A) was proved to have positive correlation with PA and FIB, but to have negative correlation with APB and VAB. In addition, Conscientiousness(C) showed negative correlation with APB and VAB. 4) The worse the psychosocial environment was, the more NPB and VAB were observed. 5) APB was explained 24% by C and primary care-giver, while NPB was explained 28% by psychosocial environment, having other disease or not, and married life. VAB was explained 40% by A. sex, and married life. On the other hand PB was explained 33% by O, A. N, and having medical treatment or not. But any significant factor was not found to explain FIB. 6) A cluster analysis was performed on disturbing behaviors of demented elderly staying at home. It enabled to regroup the demented elderly in 5 patterns: high scored in NPB, high scored in FIB. high scored in NPB and VAB, moderately scored in most disturbing behaviors, and low scored in all areas. In conclusion, disturbing behaviors of demented elderly not only reflect their premorbid personality in the past, but also are affected by their present psychosocial environment. Therefore, it is necessary to encourage and respond them with understanding their disturbing behaviors in relation to their past premorbid personality. In addition, it is important to provide them better psychosocial environment in order to reduce their disturbing behaviors.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.260-269
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• 2005

Purpose: This study were to understand the caregiving situation of families with the demented elderly and to develop a self-help program for them. Method: A self-help program was designed to increase caregivers' confidence and skills in problem solving. In addition, it was designed to provide information about the demented elderly. The self-help program of this study was composed of nine sessions. Result: Family caregivers of elderly patients with dementia obviously experience high level of stress. which often leads the caregivers to negative outcomes such as depression, interference with social activities and health difficulties. That is, caring is stressful for caregivers because the demands of the caregiving situation tend to overwhelm the caregivers' coping resources. Therefore, families with demented elderly persons need assistances in order to be relieved from their care burden. Conclusion: The self-help program includes the understanding of dementia, the family caregiving experiences of the demented elderly persons, the time for self-care, the search for helping, the improving of interpersonal relations and communications.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.155-168
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• 2017

Objectives: The purpose of this research is to examine oral pathogen distribution among elderly with dementia in a care facility to understand the importance of preventively managing oral diseases in terms of preventively managing senile diseases. Methods: From 11th August 2015 to 11th October 2015, gingival crevicular fluid was collected from 130 subjects consisting of demented/non-demented elderly people aged above 65 in care facilities located in the regions of Busan/Gyeonggnam. Based on collected data, real-time PCR analysis on oral pathogen was conducted. Results: The demented elderly group consisting of female patients aged from 0 to 79 indicated higher ratios of T. denticola in comparison to the non-demented elderly group, and the demented elderly group consisting of female patients aged above 80 indicated a high ratio of S. mutans. It was confirmed that P. gingivalis and T. forsythensis categorized under the red complex are correlated, and that bacterial species categorized under the orange complex and bacterial species categorized under the red complex are correlated. Conclusions: Because eldery people with demntia are exposed to periodontal disease and dental caries, their oral environments are more vulnerable. In order to improve such environments, it is necessary to provide care facility personnel with an opportunity to receive education to become aware of the importance of oral health, and it is also necessary to compulsorily assign dental hygienists to care facilities so that they can serve as personnel specializing in oral health management.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.140-146
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• 2013

Objectives: We compared the characteristics of the pain threshold and pain experience between demented group and non-demented group. Methods: This study was part of Gangwon projects for early detection of dementia in 2010. We recruited 8302 local resident ages over 65 years old. Of theses, 1259 people who scored low MMSE were selected and 365 of them completed CERAD-K(Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's disease). Finally, 90 in non-demented group and 57 in demented group(mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease) were analyzed. Pain threshold was experimentally measured by pressure algometer and we investigated the pain experience, by Brief pain inventory (BPI), a self-report test. Results: In the demographic characteristics, there are more female, higher ages, lower education in the demented group. There was no significant difference between the two groups in the pain threshold. On the BPI results, 'shoulder pain', 'the number of pain' and 'interference of working' were significantly more prevalent in non-demented group. However, there are no significant differences between the groups in the 'pain severity', 'prevalence of pain' and 'pain treatment'. Conclusions: Demented group report less pain experience but, still perceived pain. It support previous studies that patient with dementia have increased pain tolerance but preserved pain threshold. Thus, active pain assessment and treatment for patients with dementia is needed.

• The Journal of the Korean life insurance medical association
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• v.16
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• pp.99-107
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• 1997