• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.78-88
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• 2007

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to find out the degree of cognitive function among the elderly and to confirm its correlated factors. Methods: The subjects consisted of 392 elderly people over the age 65 who were living in Busan. Data were collected by the interview method, using a structured questionnaire and the K-MMSE scale. Results: The average points of the elderly's cognitive functions measured by K-MMSE were 23.76(${\pm}4.02$). With the cut-off point for cognitive impairment set as 24 points below using K-MMSE scale, 38.8% of the subjects have cognitive impairments. Among the variables related to cognitive functions, literacy showed the highest correlation with cognitive function(${\beta}=.330$, t=7.249, p<.001), followed in order by educational level, age, depression level, attendance of elderly's college, and religious activity. The total explanatory power of these variables is 36%. Conclusion: In order to prevent cognitive impairment among the elderly, elderly people have to maintain social relationships continuously, and expand the social network by participating in the related programs. Some efforts to prevent the occurrence of depression and to stimulate patients' brain activity need to be recommended.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.468-478
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• 2006

Purpose: The purpose of this study were to find out the degree of memory decline and to confirm its correlated factors in old adults. Method: The subjects consisted of 68 old adults over the age 65 who living in Busan. Data were collected by the interview method, using a structured questionnaire and the testing method on the memory performance. Results: The old adults' memory performances declined in tasks of immediately word recall, delayed word recall, and face recognition and increased slightly in word recognition over 2 years. However, there was only significant difference in delayed word recall task. The significant variables to predict memory decline were age, literacy, depression, locus, and strategy. Conclusion: The memory decline of old adults wasn't more serious problem than the perceived one. There needs to be some intervention programs to prevent memory decline for the elderly.

• 한국노년학
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.529-546
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• 2009

Depression in old age not only is prevalent but also causes a considerable amount of burden in physical, psychosocial, and economic terms. Intervention, however, is often delayed due to the understanding that considers depressive symptoms as a normal process of aging or signs of physical illnesses. Since the recognition of symptoms often initiate one's help seeking process, a correct identification of symptoms can contribute to early detection and intervention to depression in oneself as well as in others. This study interviewed 104 older adults living in an urban area, and explored their ability to correctly identify depressive symptoms and factors related to identification. The study results show that respondents who were able to correctly identify symptoms of depression were only 14%, and the rest defined the symptoms as social, economic, and other psychological issues. Of the factors in the logistic regression model, age being 75 and over and mass media as source of mental health information affected negatively their ability to correctly identify symptoms; mental health education programs affected positively their ability. Based on these results, it is suggested that such strategies as employing a face-to-face provision of concrete information and counseling can be more effective than delivering information via large-scale lectures. Additionally, a future research deems necessary to conduct an in-depth examination of mental health/illness-related contents on mass media.

• Journal of Family Relations
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.49-72
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• 2016

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to develop a cognitive behavioral therapy program for ego-integrity of depressed elderly women living alone, and to verify its effectiveness. Method: The subjects of this study were composed of elderly women(age 65 and older) living alone who had basic literacy skills, 24 or higher in mental state examination(MMSE-K), and 6 or higher in elderly depression(GDS). 29 women were randomly assigned into an experimental group(cognitive behavioral therapy), a comparison group(reminiscence therapy) and a control group. The experimental group and the comparison group retrospectively participated in a 90-minute therapy session twice a week for a total of 12 weeks. The effectiveness of the program was assessed through a pretest, posttest, and 2-month follow-up test. The data collected were analyzed with SPSS 22.0 statistical program. Results: The main findings of this study are as follows. First, at posttest ego-integrity and self-esteem marked higher scores in both of the experimental group and the comparison group than in the control group, but the experimental group marked comparatively higher scores than the comparison group. For dysfunctional attitude, only the experimental group showed lower scores compared to the comparison group and the control group. Second, at posttest depression marked lower scores in the experimental group compared to the comparison group and the control group. Third, at posttest problem-solving and support-seeking coping strategies marked higher scores in the experimental group compared to the comparison group and the control group. Fourth, the significant improvements remained at 2-month follow-up test. Conclusions: Cognitive behavioral therapy resulted in improvements of the ego-integrity and related symptoms of depressed elderly women living alone at posttest and 2-month follow-up test respectively.

• Journal of Korean Home Economics Education Association
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.31-48
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• 2021

The purpose of this study was to provide an understanding of the trajectories of multidimensional health among older adults, including depression, chronic diseases, and cognitive function. Data were drawn from the 1-6 waves of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing(KLoSA), and a sample of 2,059 respondents aged 65 and older at baseline was used for the analyses. Latent growth curve models and growth mixture models were used to explore the changes in depression, chronic diseases, cognitive function, and heterogeneous trajectories among them. One-way ANOVAs with Scheffé post-hoc analysis and chi-square tests were used to find differences in sociodemographic characteristics, health behaviors, and life satisfaction across the latent trajectory classes. Latent growth curve models revealed that depressive symptoms and the number of chronic diseases increased over time, while cognitive function showed gradual decreases. Three heterogeneous patterns of multidimensional health trajectories were identified: normal aging, increase in chronic diseases, and chronic deterioration. Significant differences were observed in sociodemographic characteristics, health behaviors, and life satisfaction across the three latent classes. In particular, low educational attainment, household income, and life satisfaction were associated with the chronic deterioration class. Based on the findings, we discussed suggestions for health promotion education targeting older adults. This study also emphasizes the importance of home economics education in promoting health literacy across the life course.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.133-141
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• 2017

Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify the relationship between awareness of nutrition labeling and menstrual cycle irregularity in women from a nationally representative sample of the Korean population. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was performed using hierarchical multi-variable logistic regression analysis models. A total of 4,324 women aged 19~54 years from the 2010~2012 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey participated in the study. The participants were classified into three groups based on self-report responses to a questionnaire about their awareness of nutrition labels: Reading, Not-Reading, and Not-Knowing Groups. Results: The Reading, Not-Reading, and Not-Knowing Groups comprised 46.4%, 44.9%, and 8.7% of the participants, respectively, and 53.6% of the participants had never used nutrition labels. In the Not-Knowing Group, irregular menstrual cycles for more than 3 months were significantly more common than women with irregular menstrual cycles for up to 3 months and women with regular menstrual cycles. Women in the Not-Knowing Group were more likely to exhibit menstrual cycle irregularity (adjusted odds ratio: 1.63, 95% confidence interval: 1.10~2.41) compared to women in the Reading Group after adjusting for age, body mass index, smoking status, alcohol intake, exercise regularity, stress, depression, suicidal ideation, metabolic syndrome, age at menarche, parity, and use of oral contraceptives. Conclusion: No awareness of nutrition labeling appears to be associated with a higher prevalence of menstrual cycle irregularity in a nationally representative group of Korean women.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.101-106
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to analyze the patterns of unconsciousness smartphone use by using an app and a self-administered survey on smartphone addiction comparatively and examine differences between recognition and behavior about actual smartphone use and examine how smartphone addiction influences learning. With an app installed in smartphones, this author collected and analyzed data about users' unconsciousness using patterns for a month. According to the results, there were significant differences found in users' recognition and actual time for use and also frequency of turning on the display. Also, 22% of the subjects used their smartphone over 8 hours a day, and 76% more than 5 hours. Over 95% turned on the display more than 100 times a day, and in extreme cases, they did more than 300 times. In the meantime, users not only in the smartphone addiction high risk group and the potential risk group but also in the general user group are found to use their smartphone too long and too much and frequently turn on the display. The apps that the general user group is mainly using are entertaining apps, and their school records are rather good, so excessive use does not always lead to addiction or learning disorder. Therefore, if we develop more diverse contents for learning and provide digital literacy education, smartphone use will bring more positive effects instead. In follow-up research, the app should be corrected to collect more accurate information, and as variables in personal areas, this researcher will also measure depression, anxiety, stress, self-esteem, and emotional control, and so on to see how they are associated with smartphone use.

• The Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.129-139
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• 2010

Purpose: A new scale was developed to measure personal power and ability for health care and promotion including health determinants. Method: Research phases designed for this study were a literature review, scale development, discussion with experts, pre-test for content validity, and survey for construct validity and reliability. The scale was composed of 20 items on 4 point Likert scale and was tested on middle aged Korean-Americans (110) and Koreans (105) living in a community. Result: As the result of factor analysis, 7 dimensions were identified that were similar yet different from the original dimensions. They included health literacy, socialbelonging and gender role, self-perception, health policy participation, socio-cultural interpersonal relationships, spiritual comfort, and socioeconomic involvement. The total variances explained 59.73%. The reliability was .736 of Cronbach's alpha. The mean PPHC was not different in age, gender, economic status and disease presence, but significantly different in country where living, religion, education level, job presence, and emigration period. The increased power group perceived more wellbeing and less depression, high internal locus of control and increased power with others. In addition, they had a greater health promotion lifestyle profile. Conclusion: This scale was statistically reliable and valid to measure personal power of health care.

• Journal of Korean Gerontological Nursing
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• v.20 no.sup1
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• pp.119-126
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• 2018

Purpose: The aim of this study was to describe problems and solutions for older adults living alone and using wearable devices to report depressive moods in daily life. In addition, gerontology nurses' competencies and strategies were discussed based on lessons learned from the observational study. Methods: A hybrid method was used, combining literature review and content analyses based on interviews with 53 participants and observations done by the research team. Results: Main issues and relevant strategies were identified in terms of (1) applicability of information and communications technology (ICT) devices for older adults, (2) feasibility of older adults' use of ICT devices, (3) integration of ICT devices into daily life, and (4) relevant issues when older adults use ICT. Important roles and competencies were discussed regarding general and gerontology aspects of ICT. Conclusion: Findings indicate that a wearable device is feasible to measure daily depressive moods in older adults living alone in community settings. To extend our research protocol to practice, gerontology nurses must adequately prepare to meet emerging health care trends and end users' needs for ICT-based nursing. It is necessary to develop diverse educational programs and active involvement in research and design of relevant devices and programs.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.142-162
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• 2014

Objectives: To evaluate the critical environmental factors on healthy-aging of Korean people, we investigated the significant factors influencing health status of septuagenarians living in rural area of Jeonla province, known to be one of the representative longevity regions in Korea. Methods: We divided subjects into healthy group (36M/25F) or poor-health group (26M/73F) based on self-reported health status, body mass index, a number of prescription, and blood test data. General characteristics, physical measurements, lifestyle, dietary behavior and nutrient intake, physical health and mental health data were statistically compared between the two groups. Results: Average age was not different between healthy group and poor-health group in men and women, respectively. In men, significantly favorable factors to health were observed to be higher education, regular exercise, higher grip strength and walking function, body mass index (${\geq}18.5kg/m^2$), moderate frequency of drinking and eating-out, non-smoking, normal red blood cell (RBC) count, higher serum dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEAS) level, good digestive function and appetite, normal hearing function, regular meals, adequate vegetable and fruit intake, diverse food intake, adequate energy and nutrients (protein, vitamin $B_1$, $B_6$, C and E, folate, niacin, P, Zn and K) intake, higher mini-nutrient status assessment (MNA) score and low level of depression. On the other hand, in women, those were literacy, living arrangement, moderate frequency of drinking, healthy teeth, higher grip strength and walking function, bone mineral density, normal RBC and white blood cell (WBC) count, higher DHEAS concentration, higher MNA score, normal cognition and memory function, having snack and adequate fruit intake. Conclusions: These results could be useful to plan effective strategies to increase health-life expectancy of Korean old people living in rural areas.