• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.161-172
• /
• 2019

Objectives: This study aimed to analyze the correlation between oral function, oral environment, and brain cognitive function in the elderly. Methods: The subjects were 60 users of senior community center and elderly day care center. The survey was conducted from November to December 2018. Subjects were assessed by oral examination and myofunction test. Oral myofunction was measured using $IOPI^R$ and Lip de $Cum^R$. Survey data were analyzed using the statistical programs of PASW Statistics ver. 18.0. Results: Tongue muscle strength and lips muscle strength was higher in males than in females. The tongue and lip strengths were higher in the <81 years old group than the ${\geq}81$ years old group. Functional tooth analysis showed that there was a ${\geq}15$ teeth group ($40.91{\pm}7.36$) and a <15 teeth group ($32.52{\pm}7.14$). Lip muscle strength analysis showed that the ${\geq}15$ teeth group ($10.54{\pm}3.40$) was higher than the <15 teeth group ($8.20{\pm}2.41$, p<0.05). Tongue muscle strength, lumbar muscle strength, and functional tooth number were lower in the elderly subjects with mild cognitive impairment. Cognitive function was significantly correlated with functional tooth number (r=0.386, p<0.001), tongue strength (r=0.478, p<0.001), and lip strength (r=0.281, p<0.05). Tongue strength was significantly correlated with lip strength (r=0.360, p<0.001) and functional tooth number (r=0.633, p<0.001). Lip strength was significantly correlated with functional tooth number (r=0.376, p<0.001). Conclusions: These results showed that age and functional tooth number influenced oral muscle strength and that the number of functional teeth and oral muscle strength were low in the elderly with mild cognitive impairment. Oral myofunction training and oral care program are suggested to improve the quality of life of the elderly.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
• /
• v.32 no.6
• /
• pp.411-417
• /
• 2018

Last year, the elderly population aged 65 years and over exceeded 14.2 percent of the total population, and Korea has entered the ageing society. At the same time, social interest in improving the health level and quality of life in the elderly has also increased. In particular, pain is one of the most common diseases experienced by middle-aged and elderly people and is one of the factors that closely affect the quality of life. The purpose of this study was to analyze the factors affecting the pain level and pain region of Korean medicine users and the use of Korean medicine in the Korean middle aged and elderly using the 6th Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing (KLoSA) panel. As a result, the main influencing factors of Korean medical care were subjective factors such as gender, subjective health status, and education level. In particular, half of the middle-aged and elderly who used Korean medicine experienced back and knee pain, and generally complained of low level of pain. This study suggests the need for research and development of Korean medicine that can control and relieve the pain of the middle-aged and elderly.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
• /
• v.14 no.3
• /
• pp.293-302
• /
• 2014

Objectives : The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between the status and necessity of dental prosthesis and mastication function in the Korean elderly. Methods : This study investigated 4,557 elderly people aged over 65 in the 5th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey(2010-2012). Frequency analysis, ${\chi}^2$ test, and logistic regression analysis were used. Results : Those aged over 75 complained of greater discomfort in mastication function than those from 65 to 74, and it was statistically significant(p<0.001). Mastication discomfort was not so significant in those with higher education and higher income(p<0.001). Those who did not use prosthesis tended to have better mastication function(p<0.001). Denture users complained of mastication discomfort when they used it(p<0.001). Conclusions : This study verified the relationship between the discomfort in mastication and related factors, and will provide the basic data for the access to dental clinic services.

• Korean Institute of Interior Design Journal
• /
• v.14 no.2 s.49
• /
• pp.142-152
• /
• 2005

It is estimated that the need to build health facilities for the elderly will grow in the near future as the Korean society is aging. Thus the study on the spatial composition of 22 facilities as well as on the cases of health facilities for the elderly in Japan, where public health and medicare for aged people are well taken care of, was conducted and the following are the results: 1. As of 2000, there was one facility for every 8,000 and 1,100 aged citizen under long-term care, and these facilities secured beds enough for $8\%$ of those who need long-term care. 2. The spatial composition was categorized into general living space, long-term care, management, provision, and home assistance, and housing was provided. Moreover, the space was divided according to their nature of use, the arrangement, the form of entrance into the building, moving line inside, the relationship with the health facilities and their characteristics are analyzed based on different users, managers, moving line including that of provision of food, the relationship between different spaces with different functions as well as on the relationship between locations of each space. 3. The total capacity, building area and actual area of the welfare facilities for the elderly are analyzed, and area per person, detailed area for each space, percentage of each living space for long-term care patients and characteristics of recuperation room are suggested.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
• /
• v.20 no.6
• /
• pp.420-427
• /
• 2011

The population of elderly people increases rapidly as our society moves towards the aged one. Healthcare for the elderly becomes an important issue and falling down is one of the critical problems although not well recognized. In this study, a fall detection system was developed using a 3-axis accelerometer. Analyzing fall patterns, we took into account the degree of impact, posture angle, the repetitions of similar movements and the activities after a potential fall and proposed an algorithm of fall detection. Information of the fall sensor was sent to a remote healthcare server through the wireless networks of Zigbee and WLAN. Our system was designed to monitor multiples users. 12 persons participated in experiment and each one performed 24 different movements. Our proposed algorithm was compared with other reported ones. Our method produced the excellent results having a sensitivity of 96.4 % and a specificity of 100 % whereas other methods had a sensitivity range between 87.5 % and 94.8 % and a specificity range between 63.5 % and 83.3 %.

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.27-35
• /
• 2007

According to the 2005 Korean census, the 65 and over population now exceeds 9.5% of the total population and is growing rapidly. Meeting elderly environment and care needs of this rapidly growing segment of the population becomes a major challenge for public policies and planners. Since great deal amount of elderly will reside in their houses, aging in place concept becomes important. For the success of aging in place, the quality of individual house unit, community support systems, and quality of senior center of the community are crucial. Since elderly environments and facilities serve not only medical and/or care programs but also social activity program in aging society, senior centers need to promote social activities and other care programs. The purpose of this study is to analyze characteristics of environmental affordance of a well received senior center in Tokyo, Japan. In order to analyze the characteristics, Murtha & Lee user benefit criteria and Lawton's environmental affordance approaches were used. As results, design characteristics and interior elements which provide environmental affordance were enumerated by type of space. Based on needs and user benefit criteria, those features were analyzed. This study shows design characteristics, elements, and attributes which are well received and utilized by elderly users.

• Fire Science and Engineering
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.9-19
• /
• 2010

Recently, Korea is constantly increasing its elderly care hospitals, and requires establishment of general evacuation plan considering old people's behavioral characteristics and physical states in emergency situations such as fire, and etc. In addition, because most of the facility users are patients under serious dementia and stroke, they feel difficulty evacuating by themselves, with differing evacuation time according to each walking status (bed, wheel chair, and various supplementary instruments), which is why it makes it difficult to have them all evacuate. This paper, in order to suggest data reference for designing on the basis of functionality, used various collected data utilizing Simulex to measure evacuation time through the model of elderly care hospital, a medical facility. During the study, several problems were found.

• Journal of Home Health Care Nursing
• /
• v.20 no.1
• /
• pp.24-32
• /
• 2013

Purpose: This study aimed to clarify the characteristics of musculoskeletal problems in elderly Korean women and their actual and current use of dietary supplements by conducting a descriptive survey. Methods: The 1-month study began on April 3, 2012. A total of 150 elderly women from City D responded to the survey questionnaire used in this study. Results: Among the respondents, 55.3% used dietary supplements, although they had not consulted a physician for a definitive diagnosis of their condition but reported a self-perceived musculoskeletal problem instead. In addition, they engaged in healthy behaviors such as exercising and dietary supplement intake, without receiving any medical treatment. Compared with the nonusers, the dietary supplement users self-perceived a relatively more serious musculoskeletal problem (t =4.566, p<.001). Among the most commonly used supplements, multivitamins ranked first, followed by glucosamine and omega-3. Conclusion: Nurses should thoroughly monitor and maintain a positive attitude toward their patients' use of dietary supplements in order to appropriately educate them about the proper use of supplements.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Interior Design Conference
• /
• 2005.10a
• /
• pp.187-190
• /
• 2005

The purpose of this study was to investigate using behavior and spatial composition of activity room in skilled nursing facilities for the elderly and to provide basic information about its space planning. The design guidelines for activity room were as follows. First, the plan of activity room is based on the use of once to twice per week and for 30 minutes per use, and is mainly for the human knowledge and art programs. Second, all cases of the same and different floor of the individual room could be considered as its location. Third, the area is recommended at least more than 6 square meters per person including participating elderly, staff, furniture, equipments and restroom. Fourth, the furniture of activity room include the shelves, table for at least 8 persons with enough knee space, wheel, and stack chairs. Toilets and water closet should be arranged for the emergency, and the windows to the hall and curtain door need to be avoided for soundproofs and easy accessibility of wheelchair users.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
• /
• v.33 no.4
• /
• pp.281-287
• /
• 2014

Objective: The objective of the study is to develop a portable assistance device to help elderly users reduce strain on the knee and leg muscle while the elderly are standing up. Background: The pose of standing up from a chair is a basic movement, but the elderly often have difficulty standing up due to their weak muscles. We focus on designing a solution that helps the elderly reduce physical problems and support them standing up. Method: This study consists of three parts. Part I explores the way to reduce the refrain of leg muscle while standing up from a chair. In the process of structural development, we found that the moment is minimized when user pushes down the armrests due to a decrease in the force acting on the center of mass. In part II, a user test of 20 participants was carried out to rank the order of comfort of two stimuli: the chair with fixed armrests and the chair with the four-link mechanism that we created-in three different ways; (1) to stand up without touching armrests, (2) to stand up by pushing down on fixed armrests, and (3) to stand up by pushing down on armrests and being supported by the mechanism. To examine the statistically significant differences among the rank means, a Friedman test was conducted. In part III, we analyze the results of the user test and interview feedbacks, focusing on establishing a design strategy from UPO and visualizing it in 1:1 scale. Results: In part I, we decided to develop the four-link mechanism. The bottom is lifted up as the link rises. In part II, based on the rank data, we empirically found that UPO was assessed as the most comfortable during the stimuli. The thigh angle is smaller and the bottom of UPO is separated from a seat. In part III, after assessing the results and feedbacks, we created a visualization strategy for UPO: light, friendly, and novel. Conclusion: The portable and non-mechanical UPO comprises a four-link system that lifts the user's hips while standing. It can help users avoid knee and leg muscle strain. Its universal design considers the elderly's difficulties. Application: In a future study, combining light and durable material in UPO is expected to increase its usability. And this study is an opportunity to design various types of standing assistance devices.