• Journal of the Institute of Convergence Signal Processing
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.86-91
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• 2020

As the number of elderly people living alone increases, the frequency of fall accidents is also increasing. Falls are a threat to the health of older adults and can reduce their ability to remain independent. To solve this problem, we need real-time technology to recognize and respond to the critical condition of the elderly living alone. Therefore, this paper proposes a modified fall detection algorithm based on YOLO-KCF that can check one of the emergency situations in real time for the elderly living alone. YOLO can detect not only the detection of objects, but also the behavior of objects, namely stand and fall. Therefore, this paper can detect fall using the ratio of change of boundary box between stand and falling situation, and this algorithm can improve the shortcomings of KCF.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.251-259
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• 2017

Purpose: This study aims to examine the influence of vitamin D and calcium on depression and cognitive function of the elderly living alone in a city. Methods: The participants were registered in eight senior centers in S city and they had lived alone. Data were collected between November 28, 2014 and March 7, 2015. A total of 155 people participated in data collection to measure the serum vitamin D, the serum calcium, depression, and cognitive function. The data were analyzed with t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation and multiple regression analysis. Results: There were significant differences in depression according to gender and perceptions of health status. Depression correlated significantly with the serum calcium and perceptions of health status, and a stepwise regression analysis showed that the perceptions of health status were significant. There were significant differences in cognitive function according to education level and age. Cognitive function correlated significantly with the serum vitamin D and a stepwise regression analysis showed that education level and age were significant. Conclusion: Consequently, elderly people with poor perceptions of their health status need a depressive intervention program and those with a higher age and lower level of education need a cognitive function intervention program.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.43-65
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• 2007

This research aims at finding out how spare time activity, relationships with their children and loneliness affect the satisfaction of life of elderly people who have no spouse. To begin, according to the survey, in the case of elderly people who have no spouse, male elderly people feel more loneliness, lower unification with their offspring, and do less activity in their spare time than female elderly people. The elderly people with a higher educational level, feel less loneliness and have a close relationship with their offspring. When elderly people believe in a religion, they participate in positive activities in their spare time and have a higher satisfaction of life. Secondly, the less the elderly people have for a monthly income, the more they feel a deep sense of isolation. However, if the elderly have a sufficient monthly income, they spend their spare time on positive activities and feel a higher sense of satisfaction in their lives. These results show that economic situation is an important factor for elderly people to maintain good mental health and a good quality of life. Thirdly, the loneliness of elderly people who have no spouse was influenced by whether the elderly people have children or not. If an elderly person loses their spouse through death, they can find themselves in a desperate situation and feeling very isolated. Most elderly people who have no spouse want to live with their offspring and depend on their sons and daughters economically and psychologically. However, the elderly people living alone have lower satisfaction of life because of economic and psychological problems. Therefore, the results shows that the life satisfaction of elderly people who have no spouse was influenced by living with their children and having a close relationship with them. The elderly people who have no spouse feel hopelessness and rely increasingly on their sons and daughters. The elderly people who don't have a sufficient monthly income not only feel more loneliness than other elderly people, but are also restricted in their spare time activities. It proves that the economic situation(monthly income) is also an important factor to maintain personal relationships.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Rural Architecture
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.1-8
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• 2011

Due to rapid decrease in population of farming and fishing villages and drain of young rural manpower to the cities, aging is being intensified, and the conditions of housing and welfare of elderly households are inadequate. Currently, group home is being discussed as part of specialized housing and welfare support policy for the people in the vulnerable class with poor self-supporting abilities such as the aged living alone in farming and fishing villages, and aged farming and fishing households. So the purpose of this research is to present the basic data for proposing the policy of supplying group home through examining the realities of housing and welfare of the people in the vulnerable class in farming and fishing villages. Survey was conducted on the 4 regions -Cheonan-si, Gongju-si, Yesan-gun, and Seosan-si - whose apartments were all occupied by the residents among the group homes for the elderly living alone in Chungcheongnam-do and the following results were derived from the analysis on the data collected from the survey. First, great effects can be attained at small costs by reorganizing and utilizing the public facilities that are unused or little used and the existing houses that are exposed to risks due to improper maintenance. Second, it can be pointed out that the residential environment of the vulnerable members of society was improved without impairing the existing village landscape. Third, housing welfare was enhanced without investing a large sum of money and the system to promptly cope with negligent accidents and emergency can be built and operated. Fourth, the cases promoted to solve the problems of the poor, unhygienic, and unsafe housing of the elderly and the vulnerable members of society were very positive and well worthy of being presented as planning direction of future group homes in farming and fishing villages. Finally, if they are operated entirely for free, it will cause the lack of the sense of ownership and the problems in securing the budget, so the ways of paying minimum individual housing expenses should be examined. The alternatives of housing welfare for the vulnerable members of farming and fishing villages are needed and the ways of constructive planning and researches should be continuously made. Also, the government's support policy should be actively promoted.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.571-582
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• 2020

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the effects of a 12-week metabolic syndrome BeHaS (Be Happy and Strong) program in elderly people with metabolic syndrome living alone, based on a community-based participatory research (CBPR). Methods: A nonequivalent control group pre-posttest design was used, and the participants were 43 elderly people living alone (experimental group 24, control group 19). The experimental group received a one-hour program per week and two individual health consultations during 12 weeks. The control group received two sessions about the metabolic syndrome and two individual health consultations. The effects of health behavior, blood pressure, blood sugar levels, abdominal circumference, triglycerides, and self-esteem were evaluated. The data were analyzed using the independent t-test and Mann-Whitney U test. Results: The health behavior with respect to the metabolic syndrome in the experimental group increased significantly (t = - 3.19, p = .002). Both diastolic blood pressure and abdominal circumference decreased in the experimental group (t = 2.00, p = .028 and t = 3.91, p < .001). No significant differences were observed between the groups in systolic blood pressure, fasting blood sugar levels, triglycerides, and self-esteem. Conclusion: The 12-week metabolic syndrome BeHaS program using community resources improves the health of elderly people with metabolic syndrome living alone. Based on these findings, further studies on the effectiveness of the metabolic syndrome BeHaS program and the experiences of those who participated in the CBPR are warranted.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.265-273
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• 1999

Elderly Koreans living in Muju Gun, Jeonbuk were divided into two groups with ages(65~74 years old group & over 75 years old group) and surveyed with questionnaire to investigate their dietary status and those factors affected with ages. The score of food habit in both sexes showed a falling tendency as their ages increased. Compared with elderly men, elderly women showed lower quality of diet. Elderly Korean were more consumed cereals and green vegetables than milk, egg, meat & fish, seaweed and fats & oils. As education level increased, the food habit score showed a rising tendency. The correlation coefficient between the score of food habit and education level was positive in illiterate and school graduates. The score of food habit of living together with their family was higher than those of living alone or living with their spouse. As household income increased, the food habit score showed a rising tendency. In the case of self consciousness of socioeconomic status was middle, food habit score is higher than those of very low. Dental status of eldery people did not affect food habit score. Palatability showed no significant correlation with age. Elderly Koreans prefered sweet taste than salty, sour, and bitter taste.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.62-73
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• 2013

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to identify differences in BMI between early and late elderly people, and factors having influence of them. Methods: This study is an analysis of secondary data that used the raw materials from the KNHANES from 2008 to 2010. The subjects involved in the final analysis were 4,772 elders aged 65 or higher. Descriptive statistics, $x^2$-test and F-test, and CSGLM from the complex sample design were used for the data analysis with SPSS/WIN 19.0. Results: Significant differences were observed in the socio-demographic characteristics, health behaviors and diet habits between early and late elderly people. Adjusted for gender, location of residence, and living alone, the factors that affected BMI of the early elderly people included current smoking status, number of disease, difficulty in chewing, and number of meals per day while those that affected BMI of the late elderly people were current smoking status, number of disease, self-rated health, and difficulty in chewing. Conclusion: The study concludes that we should consider age-specific traits for monitoring the weight status of the elderly and providing appropriate weight management programs for the elderly.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.45-54
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• 2010

Objective : This study aimed to investigate and compare the prevalence of depression and suicidality among the elderly in a rural city according to their residence type. Methods : Participants were 311 elderly people (109 male and 202 female) in Icheon City, whom trained researchers interviewed and examined Geriatric Depression Scale, Social Support Scale, Instrumental Activities of Daily Living, Activities of Daily Living, Quality of Life Scale, and Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), module C. Using these data, we analyzed participants' risk factors associated with depression and suicidality. Results : The prevalence of depression was 28.0%. The prevalence in the elderly living alone and those admitted to residential facilities was significantly higher than that among the elderly living with family. Suicidality frequency was 19.6%. The suicidality frequency among the elderly living alone and those admitted to facilities was significantly higher than that among the elderly living with family. The risk factors for depression were age, admission to a facility, and low economic status. The suicidality risk factors were living alone, admission to a facility, poor social support, and a history of headache. Conclusion : These results showed the prevalence of depression and frequency of suicidality among the elderly in such a city was quite high. The results of this study remind psychiatrists of the importance of early detection and therapeutic intervention for the elderly with a high risk of depression and suicidality.

• 한국노년학
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.853-870
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• 2017

This study examined the changes of depression and life satisfaction among the elderly living together in group-home and congregate housing. And in this course, it was to verify the practical effects of the recent government and local authority community life of elderly people by comparing them with the groups of elders living alone. The study was divided into Time 1 and Time 2, and 205 person's data were used for the final analysis. PASW Statistics 18.0 was utilized to analysis the data of this study, because it is difficult to explain the results of this analysis, secondary qualitative research has been used to identify additional contextual information. The major results of this study are as follows. First, the depression of the subjects was significantly improved in the case of living in group-home and congregate housing, and it was significantly worse in the group of elders living alone. Second, the life satisfaction of survey subjects was significantly improved when living in congregate housing, group-home was significantly worse, and the group of elders living alone were not statistically significant but slightly worse. Third, mixed research methods were applied to make accurate interpretation of changes of life satisfaction of the elderly living in group-home. Based on the results of this study, it is possible to establish appropriate measures for the elderly to improve early adjustment and quality of life in community life. And the community life of the elderly can contribute to a real social safety net by solving the blind spot of welfare. At the national level, it can be utilized as a standard reference to improve and strengthen existing policies by providing data that can simultaneously examine the performances and problems of various policies related to housing or the welfare of the elderly.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.479-488
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• 2018

This study was conducted to investigate factors affecting low body weight of solitary elderly people by grasping the illness and health behavior of elderly living alone. Using the raw data of the community health survey from 2014, the data of 922 elderly living alone who are 65 years or older were used for the final analysis. Data were analyzed by technical analysis statistics, The Rao Scott $x^2$ test, and logistic regression analysis using the composite analysis module of the SPSS/WIN 22.0 program. The results of this study showed that elderly living alone had a high percentage of chronic diseases as well as poor health behaviors such as smoking, drinking, lack of exercise, poor eating habits, difficulties in dentistry due to dentures, and poor subjective health status. Result of logistic regression analysis the risk probability of low-weight due to gender of the elderly living alone is as follows. Risk of low body weight because of smoking was 3.004 times among occasional smokers in women and the elderly, while risk of low body weight due to walking amount is less than 3 days the possibility that the person walking is low is 1.420 times significantly higher. When feeling subjective stress, the possibility of low body weight was 2.220 times greater for male elderly and 1.282 times for female elderly. The probability of low body weight for a person with a poor subjective health level was 3.633 times for male elderly and 1.590 times for female elderly. Based on the results of this study, it is necessary to establish appropriate nursing intervention and management strategies to improve health behavior of low body weight elderly living alone. It is also necessary to conduct additional studies considering various variables such as physical, psychological, and social characteristics of low-weight elderly individuals.