• The Journal of Economics, Marketing and Management
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.89-96
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• 2024

Purpose: This study explored the impact of using a music and horticultural therapy program on depression among rural seniors living in Yeongam-gun and conducted a comparative analysis before and after the program to present basic data helpful for an integrated mental health promotion program tailored to rural areas. Research methodology: The analysis subjects of this study were users of the rural residential program of 'Our Village Day Care Center' in Yeongam-gun in 2023, with a total of 20 people, 10 seniors for each program. The research analysis used SPSS to determine the effect on participation and depression before and after the program was implemented. Results: As a result of the analysis, depression levels decreased after completion of the horticultural therapy program and music therapy program, and this was statistically significant. Conclusion: Three implications are presented based on the following research results. First, the need for programs that can improve not only the physical health but also the mental health of elderly people living in rural areas is suggested. Second, the need for programs that link cultural programs such as music and gardening activities with welfare programs is suggested. Third, the need for follow-up management and verification of periodic mental health checkups for rural elderly is suggested.

• 한국노년학
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.329-349
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• 2018

The objective of this study is to examine whether there are differences in participation in social activities and the effects of social activity types on the levels of happiness of the Korean older adults by age groups. The 5th wave(2014) of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing (KLoSA) was used and a total of 3,273 elderly were selected from the 5th wave, who were 65 years old and older and who were not living with their offsprings. Chi-square test, ANOVA, and hierarchical multiple regression analysis were used. The rate of participation in economic activities declined with age and the levels of participation in leisure activities was higher in the young-old group in comparison to the middle- and the oldest- old groups. The levels of participation in family activities was higher in the middle- and the oldest-old groups in comparison to the young-old group. Socializing activities and religious activities measured by the frequencies of activities were not significantly different among the age groups. The results of a regression analysis of social activity types and their effects on happiness by age groups are the followings: 1) Leisure, socializing, religious, and family activities all (with the exception of economic activities) significantly affected the level of happiness of older persons in the young-old group. 2) However, only socializing and family activities in the middle-old age group, and only family activities in oldest-old group, had a statistically significant impact on the levels of happiness. These results support that the rates of participation in the five types of social activities and their effects on the levels of happiness were different by age groups. The implication of this study was to report that needs and the interests of older individuals are different by age groups based on empirical evidences.

• 한국노년학
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.261-284
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• 2019

This study examines the vocational adjustment experiences of elderly men who chose a creative occupation after retirement. The aims are to understand the related meanings and to provide specific empirical data on the elderly who hope to start a creative occupation. Five men aged 65 years or older who chose a creative occupation after retirement were enrolled in the study. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with the participants. The collected data were qualitatively analyzed, and a total of 7 categories, 25 subcategories, and 132 concepts were identified. The seven categories were "challenge led by a sense of freedom," "reflection of the need for 'fun,'" "difficulties and limitations felt by a non-expert," "concerns and effort to afford the increasing expenses," "joy for accomplishment," "ways to utilize my creativity," and "reward from increased social participation." The participants felt that adjusting to a creative occupation was a process by which their potential creativity was expressed. They felt the joy of working that they had not felt before, and the series of processes by which they overcame difficulties during work and increased their social participation were in line with the goals of creative aging. In order to help older adults in Korea to choose and adjust to creative occupations in their older adulthood, there is a need for creative-occupation-related education prior to retirement and for various policies and practical efforts that consider the change of social environment. Furthermore, our findings suggest that choosing a creative occupation after retirement is an effective measure for promoting successful aging among the elderly in Korea.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.71-85
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• 2003

Objectives: The present study was directed at revealing the influence of various life styles on the subjective well-being and depressive states, and their related factors among the elderly. Methods: The interviews were given to 454 elderly people aged over 65 (197 male and 257 female) in rural areas of Chungnam Province during the 3-month period from July 1st to Sep. 30th, 2002. The interview contents for the elderly included social demographic characteristics, activities of daily living(ADL) whether independent of others or not, subjective well-being, Zung's self-rating depression scale(SDS), etc. Results: The male elderly showed significantly higher scores in subjective well-being than the female, and with regard to Zung's depression scores, they were significantly higher in the female than the male elderly. Based on the correlation between scores of subjective well-being and its related factors, there was a significant, positive correlation in both sexes with whether or not participation in the social gatherings and the degree of satisfaction with subjective health status. The factors shown to be negatively correlated with depression scores in both sexes were whether or not participation in the social gatherings, the degree of satisfaction with the subjective health status, economic conditions, and ADL scores. The factors influencing on the subjective well-being included depressive states, eating habits, dwelling states, ADL scores, and physical activity. Those influencing on the depressive states were the degree of satisfaction with the subjective health status, physical activity, sexes, smoking, ADL scores, economic conditions, eating habits and whether or not participation in the social gatherings. Conclusions: Consequently, the subjective well-being as well as physical activity and economic conditions were shown to be the important factors for the healthy elderly life.

• 한국노년학
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.241-259
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to study the performance of volunteer work for the elderly from the perspective of self-efficacy and self-extension of the elderly, not from successful aging or productive aging. Through this, the research aims to confirm the expansion of internal growth and self-sufficiency that can occur in old age, and to provide an opportunity to re-examine one's life in old age. In order to verify the purpose of this research, questionnaires were distributed to 300 senior citizens who participated in volunteer activities at the City Hall and the District Office of Busan Metropolitan City over a period of three months from September to November 2018 and used the data from 266 questionnaires for the study, excluding the 34questionnaire answered unfaithfully. The results of the study are as follows. First, the motivation for volunteering activities (value function, social function, understanding function) of the elderly has a positive effect on self-efficacy. Second, the motivation for volunteering activities (value functions, social functions, understanding functions) have a positive effect on self-extension. Third, it has been shown that the elderly's sense of self-efficacy (self-regulation efficacy, confidence) has a positive effect on their self-extension. Fourth, it was found that self-efficacy has a mediated effect on the motivation of the elderly to participate in volunteer activities and the relationship of self-extension. This study identified the relevance of the motivation for volunteering activities of the elderly to influence their effectiveness and self-extension. In particular, the research suggests practical and policy measures for the revitalization of volunteer activities of the elderly by providing a new perspective on the welfare of the elderly by utilizing parameters of self-efficacy, a psychological and social concept for the elderly.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SC
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• v.44 no.4 s.316
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• pp.8-14
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• 2007

Social participation of the elderly and people with disabilities continuously becomes more active due to improvement of social systems and technological development. Various assistive systems, such as intelligence robots and intelligence home systems, have been developed to support the social participation, and obviously contributed to independent lives of the elderly and people with disabilities. These systems, however, usually require expensive special hardware. To relieve a financial burden software-oriented approaches, which utilizes existing hardware such as laptops, can be an alternative. The software should be developed considering users with physical limitation and without much knowledge of computers. This paper suggests software-oriented approaches to solve these problems and describes an actual development procedure of the software with related theories. We also introduce an unified user interface for a special work chair as a real application.

• 한국노년학
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.959-976
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to understand socio-demographic factors related to older adults' participation patterns in lifelong education. For the purpose, this study used the raw data of 2017 Survey of the Living Conditions of the Elderly (SLCE) conducted by The Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs. From the data of 10,073 older adults, their lifelong education participation, participating program types, participating organizations, and participating frequency were analyzed by their sex, age, educational level, household income, the longest job status, and health status. This study found that female, age of 70-74 and 75-79, educational levels of high school and higher, the longest job status of regular employees and unpaid family workers, and decent health status of older adults more participated in lifelong education. According to lifelong education program types, significant differences were found between education groups of middle school/lower and groups of high school/higher and between 1, 2 quintile income groups and 3, 4, 5 quintile income groups. In relation to the participating organizations, groups of 70 years and older, middle school and higher education level, under 3 quintile income, and poor health tended to participate in lifelong education at the elderly welfare center, senior citizens, and elderly classrooms. In terms of participation frequency, high school and college/higher than 0 year of school education, and regular workers than unpaid family workers were more frequently participated in lifelong education. This study showed the inequality in lifelong education participation according to older adults' demographic characteristics; finally, this study suggested necessary policies and academic discussions for future older adults' lifelong education.

• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.7-29
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• 2019

Objective: The purpose of this study is to analyze comprehensive lifestyle assessment and other assessments which evaluate essential lifestyle factors, including physical activity, nutrition and activity participation. Methods: To analyze the comprehensive lifestyle assessment, from January 2001 to June 2019, a literature search was conducted using the CINANL, NDSL, PubMed, and RISS databases. The search terms were 'lifestyle assessment' OR 'lifestyle profile' OR 'lifestyle test'. In terms of other assessments of essential factors of lifestyle, from January 2010 to June 2019, articles were searched using similar databases. The search terms were 'physical activity assessment' OR 'physical activity participation profile', 'nutrition assessment', 'activity participation assessment' OR 'activity participation and lifestyle'. Results: A total of 4,165 articles were obtained, and finally 31 articles were selected according to the inclusion criteria. Among 31 articles, there were five with comprehensive lifestyle assessments, and all of them were self-report questionnaires. The most popular assessments were the Health Enhancement Lifestyle Profile (HELP) and the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP), which were used in three articles (33%). In terms of assessment of physical activity, the most frequently used evaluation method was the self-report questionnaire, which was used in seven articles (58%) followed by objective assessments, which were used in four articles (33%). It was demonstrated that the Mini-Nutritional Assessment (MNA) was the most frequently used for nutrition assessment in the elderly. There were five types of assessment tool used for activity participation. Among them, meaningful activity participation assessment (MAPA) was the most frequently used tool. Conclusion: As a result of the systematic review, it was found that there are 21 assessments related to the evaluation of lifestyle in the elderly. Most assessments employed the self-report questionnaire method and mainly evaluated frequency and duration of participation in drinking, smoking, exercise, nutrition and social activities. Assessments of essential lifestyle factors were the self-report questionnaire method and the participation and frequency of activity. Therefore, by analyzing assessment tools, types of items and measurement methods of comprehensive lifestyle assessments and other assessment of essential lifestyle factors, this study provides the basic data on which to develop a standardized assessment tool that can evaluate the multifaceted lifestyle profile of the elderly.

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.395-415
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• 2011

The aging of population stems from the decline of birth and death rates. A sudden aging society results in a variety of social issues like the poverty, role loss, alienation, health problems, etc. of the elderly. What counts in solving these issue is to make good use of the leisure time of the elderly. Leisure activities in the elderly help maintain and improve their mental and physical health, and have a great influence on improving the quality of life in the elderly. In addition, they contribute to building up a healthy social structure by forming a social intimacy. Despite these positive aspects of leisure activities, however, multiple factors prevent the leisure activities of the elderly from being actively pursued. In this respect, since there is a need to take a look at how the varied leisure activities of the elderly expose themselves in different regions, this study made an investigation so as to see what characteristics and differences each region has in the leisure activities of the elderly 65 or above. As a result, the following facts were found out: the elderly in Seoul enjoy a relatively wide range of leisure activities compared with other regions; the elderly in Gwangju spend their time mainly at home: and the elderly in the Goheung region take part in leisure activities aimed at promoting friendship. It was also revealed that there are differences among different regions in the areas of leisure activities, including the types of participation in leisure activities, the types of leisure activities at and out of home, the purpose and satisfaction of leisure activities and the frequency of domestic trips.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.293-301
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to redefine 7 social exclusion factors and to derive association between social exclusion factors and depression of middle and older elderly, focused on gender differences. The elderly aged over 50 years old were extracted from the data of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing (KLoSA) in 2016. The data was analyzed by descriptive analysis, chi-squared test, and binary logistic regression analysis, using SAS 9.4. As a result, the elderly who were excluded from labor, residence, health, and relationship were found to be associated to depression. In addition, male with resident exclusion were associated with depression compared to non-excluded. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the local community programs in which elderly people can participate in labor and cultural activity. It is necessary to improve labor and culture exclusion by increasing the participation opportunities of various cultural programs. In addition, it is needed to establish specific guidelines for eliminating the social exclusion of overall elderly.