• 한국노년학
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.93-108
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of absolute / relative poverty on the life satisfaction focusing on mediation effect of subjective social status by type of elderly residents. In order to analyze the distinct characteristics of the elderly, analysis was conducted with 3,327 the elderly living together and 668 the elderly living alone using 'Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing(KLoSA)' from 3rd to 5th wave data provided by the Korea Employment Information Service. The main analysis results are as follows. First, each poverty rate for the elderly living together accounted for 43.5 percent and 51.4 percent, while 63.8 percent and 77.2 percent for the elderly living alone respectively. Second, life satisfaction was higher among the elderly living together than living alone, However, life satisfaction was not related to condition of poverty among the elderly living alone. Third, absolute / relative poverty were associated with life satisfaction of the elderly living together, and subjective social status had a mediating effect. However, relative poverty was not related to life satisfaction among the elderly living alone, which indicated that it needs to support not only the financial approach to overcome absolute poverty but also the multi-dimensional poverty perspective in the intervention of the elderly living alone Based on the results, the study suggested to make a tool to measure of poverty using multi-dimensional poverty indicators.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Rural Architecture
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.9-19
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• 2012

The object of this study is to investigate the satisfaction level of group homes for the elderly living alone in rural areas. Sixty-four elderly people, living alone, were selected from ten regions operated by the Gimje city council in Jeonlabuk-do, and then a survey was conducted during January 17 to 26 in 2011. The results of the investigation are as follows: first, roughly 90.6 percent of the participants responded that they were satisfied with cohabitation. Second, average point of satisfaction was going to bed together, which is 4.39, also each unit in all the ten regions was recorded above 4.00. Third, the satisfaction of eating together averaged highly at 4.37. Fourth, 95 percent of them were satisfied with the conditions of the residential space. Fifth, the satisfaction with the amenities, such as electricity, phone, heating and sanitation, averaged 96.9 and 98.4 percent each, which was rated highest. Through analytical research, elderly people who live in 'group homes' are satisfied with their lives. It is thought that this 'group home' can play the role of an alternative family better than existing 'senior citizen centers' and 'welfare centers for the elderly'. The study means that 'group homes' in rural areas could be established successfully.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.63-70
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• 2016

In this study, the correlation between convergence factors including social, environmental, psychological and physical factors and the health-related quality of life was examined using a structural equation model to find a practical alternative for improving the quality of life in the elderly people living alone. This study targeted 13,771 seniors from single households aged 65 and over, who were subject to the community health survey in 2014. Social capitals, stress, subjective health conditions and EQ-5D of the subjects were analyzed using SPSS 23.0 and AMOS 23.0. The analysis findings are as follows. The results of the model fit was good value with CFI=.906, GFI=.955, RMSEA=.074. In conclusion, these results demonstrate that for maintaining health and improving the quality of life in the elderly people living alone, families and local communities need to increase social capitals by providing care service for the elderly people living alone and grounds that they can participate in.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.171-181
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• 2007

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the living experiences of low-income elderly living alone. Method: The data were collected through more than ten times of in-depth interview with 7 participants. The research question was "what is it like to experience your daily living?" The data were analyzed by Colaizzi's phenomenological analytic method. Results: Four main meaningful themes were identified: 1) The participants blamed themselves for their past lives, 2) They also felt sorry for being a burden on other's lives, 3) They considered diseases to be a natural part of life, 4) They felt worried and hopeless about the rest of their lives. Conclusion: This study revealed the living experiences of low-income elderly living alone. Further studies are needed to determine appropriate care and treatment. The authentic caring approaches are required with caring community people. Finally, this study may provide data for better recognizing the low-income elderly's experiences of caring in the community.

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.115-137
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• 2003

This study aims to investigate the related variables of self-esteem and depression among the Korean elderly people living alone and examine the relationships or interactions between those variables. Participants were 676 elderly men and women who were at least 65 years of age(M=76.17, sd=7.60) and lived in Seoul, Korea. Three hundred seventy eight participants of this study were living alone. Participants completed questionnaires and psychological tests including: Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale, Zung's Self-Rating Depression Scale, The Index of Activities of Daily Living(IADL), Social Support Index(SSI), and Life Satisfaction in the Elderly Scale(LSES). Main statistical designs were 2(gender)×2(residential types), Pearson-product moment and regression analysis. Results indicated that the elderly living alone recognized their health poorer, have lower economic status, and received less social supports than the elderly lived with others. The elderly men who had children were more likely to lived alone. And the elderly men living alone received less social supports than the elderly women living alone, and significant gender difference was found in the reason of living alone. The elderly men living alone had lower self-esteem than the elderly women living alone, while the elderly living alone showed more depressive symptoms than the elderly living with others. There were 2-way interactions both in self-esteem and depression by gender and residential types. There was highly significant gender difference in self-esteem only for the elderly living alone, and it was found that there was no significant difference in depression between elderly men living alone and women living with others. Regression analysis revealed that physical function and self-reported health are predictors of self-esteem, and physical function, self-reported health, and social support are predictors of depression for the Korean elderly living alone. These findings reiterate the role of physical function, social support, health in self-esteem and depession among the elderly and suggest the gender role for quality of life among the Korean elderly living alone.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.157-166
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• 2005

Purpose: This study was to explore health experiences of the low-income elderly living alone reflected in Newman's Health as expanding consciousness theory. Method: The researcher used Newman's praxis methodology because it is good for showing the process of interaction between the researcher and the low-income elderly living alone. Results: The significant characteristics of early health experience during a participant's lifetime were demonstrated that blamed themselves, being burden of themselves hopeless of their lives. However, after a turning point in health experience. The health experience of most of the participants evolved as expanding consciousness. Conclusion: This study has provided support for Newman's theory of health. Most of the participants recognized meanings in their patterns and authentic caring relationships with the nurse as researcher, pattern recognition as a nursing practice was a meaningful transforming process in the participant-nurse partnership. This participatory approach expands the scope of sharing health experience with the elderly living alone and with caring community people.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.78-87
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• 2017

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify factors influencing the quality of life of the elderly living alone and living with their families with regard to their health statuses and health behavior experiences. Methods: We used source data from the 2014 Community Health Survey. The subjects of this study included some elderly people aged 65 and over, and analyzed the data of 13,373 elders living alone and 13,322 elders living with family. Results: Factors influencing the quality of life of the elderly living alone and living with their families include gender, age, education, household income, current occupation, subjective stress level, depression, number of diagnosed diseases, walking exercise, the experience of health screening, and the experience of not having necessary medical services (p<.001). Region was a significant variable influencing the quality of life of the elderly living with their families (p<.001). Conclusion: In order to improve the quality of life of the elderly, it is necessary to provide sound conditions for working, emotional support, walking exercise and promotion of health screening, and to supplement the environment and institution for them to receive necessary medical services.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.27 no.spc
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• pp.625-634
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• 2016

This study aims to verify the effect of the rural community living home use through an analysis of depression among the elderly women who live alone in the rural community living home. A survey was conducted from July to September 2015 through direct interviews with 236 elderly people who live alone in community living homes at 52 locations across the country. The main results of this study are as follows. First, social support from family/relatives and neighbors/friends was found not to affect depression in the elderly living in community living homes. Second, satisfaction with health status, economic status and life appeared to affect their depression. This indicates the need for various measures to increase the subjective satisfaction of health. Third, when the demographic characteristics, social support and personal satisfaction were controlled, the period of use, satisfaction with use and operational service/no service were proven to have an impact on depression in the elderly living alone in community living homes. In other words, since the level of satisfaction with community living homes is very high and this has a positive impact on the elderly living in community living homes, it is desirable to have an ongoing policy for the homes to be utilized as important welfare resources. Based on these findings, this study proposes improvements in the user experience and programs and services offered for rural community living home business programs.

• Journal of the Korean housing association
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.153-164
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• 1999

The purpose of this study is to investigate preferences of middle-aged people for elderly housing in order to properly plan elderly housing; 1 ) To analyze the middle-aged peoples' preferences for elderly housing in each situation based on the following 4 categories; elderly couple/healthy, elderly couple/unhealthy, elderly living alone/healthy, elderly living alone/unhealthy. 2) To clarify the differences in preferences for elderly housing according to the subjects' backgrounds in each case. This research intends to understand the form of elderly housing and desire for the environment of subjects, middle-age, who will be old aged, and the change of preference to characteristics for elderly housing according to the change of situation. The data were collected through structured questionnaires. The subject were 298 middle-aged, 40-50's who will be experiencing aging, major customer of elderly housing in the future.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.565-574
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• 2018

Previous studies have shown that forest therapy program can help prevent dementia. However, few studies have focused on low-income elderly people living alone. The current study examined the meanings that the elderly living alone receiving medical care assigned to the urban forest therapy program, as a way to understand the pathways that nature-based intervention affect preventing dementia. Twenty-one participants were recruited and they participated in a five-week urban forest therapy program. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 21 participants who experienced the urban forest therapy program, and analyzed qualitative data using thematic analysis. Results showed that all themes identified were related to connectedness with oneself, neighbors and nature. Awarenesses of change were consisted of positive and negative themes. The themes of positive awareness were improvements of mental and emotional condition, feelings of isolation and loneliness, and health-related lifestyle. The negative themes were terminations of short-term programs and inconvenient access to the urban forest. Based on these data, we suggest an urban green welfare framework for future research and interventions for preventing dementia of underprivileged elderly group.