• Journal of the Architectural Institute of Korea Planning & Design
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• v.35 no.7
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• pp.119-126
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• 2019

The active living of the elderly leads to improve their lives and enhance social networks. In the view of the active living, the walkability is an essential factor for the elderly's daily life. To support the active living, making age-friendly environment is important. Considering that the elderly mainly carry out activities through walking, making the age-friendly walking environment is a preliminary action. The existing studies applied various methods such as surveys by experts. In spite of the benefits in theirs, there is still a limitation that current walkability measurement methods did not incorporate the actual elderly's walking activity. Thus, the purposes of this study is to measure the elderly's walking quantitatively using a wearable sensor, and to investigate the feasibility of comparing several walking environments based on the data collected from the actual elderly's walking. To do this, experiment was conducted in four types environments with 22 senior subjects. The walkability was measured by walking stability represented quantitatively as Maximum Lyapunov Exponent (MaxLE). Through the experiment results, it was confirmed that the stability of the elderly walking was different according to the walking environment, which also meant that bodily responses (walking stability) is highly related to walkability. The results will provide an opportunity for the continuous diagnosis of walking environments, thereby enhancing the active living of the elderly.

• KIEAE Journal
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.77-85
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• 2007

Korean society expects to be changing into aged society more rapidly than any other countries due to low birthrate and increase in life expectancy. Increasing number of elderly and social problems of aging society have provoked increase in research on elderly environment. Elderly housing facilities and living conditions are significantly related to the quality of life for older persons. The purpose of this study is to systematically analyze empirical studies on elderly physical environments in Korea, find out research streaming and understand social backgrounds and to suggest future research problems. For this study, contents analysis was conducted. Articles of four academic peer reviewed journals published from 1986 to 2005 were units of analysis. Using a keyword through library database systems, the articles were systematically selected. As results, trends of research according to 4 periods were defined. Among them as major trends, expansion of the quantity, expansion to interior design features for older persons, more facility types for dependent elderly(assisted living facilities, facilities for elderly with dementia, long term care facilities) have appeared. This result showed some directions and implications on elderly facility planning and development.

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.31-39
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• 2009

Population of senior citizens in Korea has been on the increase rapidly through decrease in population by falling birth rate and extension the average life span by development of medical technology and improving people's standard of living. As the booming population of senior citizens, it has appeared to problems of the elderly such as protection, health and supporting and welfare facilities for the elderly have increased there but it leaves something to be desired at plan and improvement of qualitative environment which the elderly's living space. It attaches importance to valuate about nursing homes such as management, quality of service, manufacture of physical environment and so on, so it is required to consider the elderly's emotion on environmental valuation. Healing environment that is a important fact of indoor environment operates powerfully upon the nursing homes as well as general medical facilities. It needs to healing environment for the elderly's physical health and mental stable life, we should know importance of healing environment that affects the elderly's health and life. The elderly have experienced physical, mental, and social changes with advancing years. The people who use the nursing homes are the elderly. We should find fact of healing environment as the elderly's characteristics and have to find healing environment that gives aid to the elderly's health in the nursing homes. In care for the elderly is not house care, it has focused on the elderly's health for improving their life and leading comfortable life.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.615-628
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• 2004

This study is designed to examine influences of living arrangements on psycho-social factors, health and nutritional status, dietary adequacy and meal service utility patterns of the elderly. Nutritional status was evaluated by Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA). Three hundred and nine elderly (110 men and 199 women) who participated in meal service in the Chung-buk province were investigated. Proportion of the elderly living alone, couples only, living with spouse and family, living with family without spouse; and living with other than family were 30.7%, 25.9%, 14.2%, 24.3% and 4.9% respectively. The mean age of the elderly was 74.1 years and the elderly who are living couples only and living with spouse and family were younger than those with other living status. Living arrangements seem to be related to psycho-social factors, health and nutritional status, and dietary quality. Those who live alone and live with other than family were mostly women and they have lower socio-economic status, psycho-social, health and nutritional status and dietary patterns compared with those of the elderly who are living with spouse or family. It was found that the elderly who live a couple only and live with spouse and family had better emotional, health and nutritional index than those of the elderly who live with family without spouse, especially in case of females. Most of elderly perceived that participation of meal service programs had a positive effect on their daily life and satisfied with meals. The elderly living alone and living with other than family were more frequently using meal service but had a negative attitude about the charged meal service for better quality than the elderly with other living status. The most important reason for all the elderly to participate in meal service was to meet their friends and then to get other services. Particularly those who are living alone and living with other than family showed lack of moivation to prepare and set the meal, and for them the economic reason is also important. They also replied that the poor health and lack of other help were the most difficult problems for them to prepare meals. It would be effective to provide nutritional services that meet specific needs of the elderly according to their characteristics and living environment.

• Proceeding of Spring/Autumn Annual Conference of KHA
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• 2005.11a
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• pp.89-92
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• 2005

The purpose of this study was to clarify the space use pattern and the daily living activities of the elderly with dementia in the common space (living room) of nursing home. The subjects were 2 units(living room) of the nursing home. For this, researcher visited from June 20 to July 2 and collected data by observations of behavior of the elderly with dementia in common space(living room) and interviews with staff for the information about basic characteristics of the elderly with dementia and administration and operation of the facilities. The data were analyzed using the frequency and percentage. The results revealed as follows: first, the daily living activities of the elderly with dementia in common space tended to focus on self-concentration type and physical environment-interest type. Second, physical environmental -interest type. Second, physical environmental characteristics of common space affected space usage pattern of the elderly with dementia. And it was perceived like as living oriented space, social interaction space, facility space, staff oriented space. Conclusively it was suggested to plan dining space as semi-private space, day corner as semi-public space.

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.15-23
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• 2007

Increase of aging population and demands for care and support systems, needs and demands for a variety of care services and housing facilities have increased. With the emergence of gerontechnology, tangible and intangible technologies and innovations have been explored and developed in many countries. Since housing environment is very important to define well-being and quality of life of the elderly, technology applications in the living environment are considered as important means. The purpose of this study is to enumerate and investigate technologies for the elderly to assist daily living and help care providers, and to explore technology applications in the built environments. This study also investigate how intelligent technologies are installed in the built environment and physical consideration for a variety of approaches. The content analysis was conducted to investigate technology developments for the elderly based on web materials and publication materials. The seven examples were chosen since they are seeking technologies especially for the elderly or aging-in place. General goals for the diffusion of intelligent homes expecially for the elderly are to be easy to install and remove, unobtrusive, redundant cueing, easy to use, and robust. The results of this study suggest application considerations for the technologies of the built environment for the elderly.

• Korean Institute of Interior Design Journal
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• no.41
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• pp.215-225
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• 2003

The residential and welfare facilities for the elderly are continuously increasing due to change of value on family under situation of aging population increase. And it is predicted that accommodation capacity of facilities for the elderly and its rate those facilities takes compared to whole social welfare facilities will be accelerated considering past increase speed. On the other hand, about 60% of the elderly have low physical and mental level almost close to disabled people therefore special environmental concerns helping their independent living are necessary. Among them, color application is one of the most important factors for smooth understanding, communication and psychological remedy effect for them. The purpose of this study is to analyze the interior color status in assisted living facilities for the elderly in America which is a leading country in terms of the understanding and policy for the elderly as a part of the research project to suggest the developed solution about the Korean residential welfare facilities for the elderly For this purpose, not only importance and effect of color and visual characteristics and reaction to color in elderly environment but also general concept and policy of the ‘assisted living facility’ in America were researched through documents review. And measuring of color on 5 main spaces such ; lobby/lounge, corridor, dining room, bedroom, stairway/ramp of the 10 facilities in America were performed under analysis of its functional and aesthetic level based on Moon & Spencer's color theory.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.151-164
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• 2014

This study was conducted to explore the relationships between the elderly's existential identity and psychological well-being in accordance with the elderly's age-identity so as to improve the quality of life in the elderly with prolonged lives. The data were collected from respondents who were more than 60 years in age who live in city Suncheon. The statistics used for the data analysis were reliability, frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, one way analysis of variance, and multiple regression. The results of this study were as follows: (1) A majority of the elderly (49.8%) acknowledged psychological age as actual age. (2) The degrees of the elderly's existential identity was 54.90, while the degree of the elderly's psychological well-being was 33.07. (3) The elderly's existential identity level was significantly affected by economic state, spouse, age-identity, monthly living expenses, household, religion, career, age, and health state. Further, the elderly's psychological well-being level was significantly affected by existential identity, economic state, spouse, health state, age-identity, monthly living expenses, household, education, career, and age. (4) The variables that affect the elderly's existential identity were age-identity, economic state, health state, religion, monthly living expenses, and career, indicating an explanatory power of 38%. Moreover the variables that affect the elderly's psychological well-being were existential identity, age-identity, economic state, health state, and monthly living expenses, explaining approximately 55% of the total variance.

• Journal of the Korean housing association
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.39-48
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• 2005

The purpose of this study was to analyze environment-behavior concepts included in environmental design characteristics of facilities for elderly with dementia. Major method was contents analysis of actual environmental designs. For comparison between the environment-behavior concepts and actual cases, an analytical framework was developed. Eleven cases of facilities designed for people with dementia were analyzed. Those were published ones in periodicals in USA. The analytical data used included floor plans, texts, and visual materials including photographs. Under the framework for analysis, a total of 296 criteria were used to analyze the actual cases of environmental design. This study was expected to offer a knowledge base for better environmental design for elderly with dementia and to help establish guidelines for designing such facilities which can meet the cultural characteristics and traditional conditions of Korea.

• Proceeding of Spring/Autumn Annual Conference of KHA
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• 2008.11a
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• pp.108-111
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• 2008

South Korea, which has seen economic growth at a rapid pace and the number of the old people on the rise, is facing challenges, including social problems resulting from the aged society, lack of work force supporting the elderly and needs of renewing residential environment for them. The old people in the process of senility are forced to experience a wide range of physical, mental and social difficulties and problems when they are living in existing houses. This study was conduced with a sample group consisting of the elderly who were living in detached places of multiplex houses and a plane which was developed as a tool for a workshop, the one that is a collective residence model, also known as one of an alternative housing for the old in the future. This study finds that in order to get rid of negative images of the collective residence for the old, residence surroundings for the aged should be created not as uniform space formation but as aging-in-place, and specifically, considering that the quality of life for the aged remains to continue is needed. Findings can be a reference to create ideas of developing residential environment for the aged.