• Journal of Korea Multimedia Society
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.556-565
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• 2014

This paper proposes a method to track object of real-time video transferred through single web-camera and to recognize risk-situation and human actions. The proposed method recognizes human basic actions that human can do in daily life and finds risk-situation such as faint and falling down to classify usual action and risk-situation. The proposed method models the background, obtains the difference image between input image and the modeled background image, extracts human object from input image, tracts object's motion and recognizes human actions. Tracking object uses the moment information of extracting object and the characteristic of object's recognition is moment's change and ratio of object's size between frames. Actions classified are four actions of walking, waling diagonally, sitting down, standing up among the most actions human do in daily life and suddenly falling down is classified into risk-situation. To test the proposed method, we applied it for eight participants from a video of a web-cam, classify human action and recognize risk-situation. The test result showed more than 97 percent recognition rate for each action and 100 percent recognition rate for risk-situation by the proposed method.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.371-378
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• 2021

This study examined the effects of combined exercise training for preventing falls on the physical performance, falling index, and balance in elderly women. All subjects (N = 32) were recruited and divided randomly to either a combined exercise group (n= 16, EX) or non-exercise control group (n = 16, CON). During 12 weeks of training, the subjects in the EX performed the combined exercise programs (three times/week, 60min/session), and the subjects in the CON maintained their ordinary lives. At the PRE, MID, POST tests, All subjects completed senior fitness tests(dynamic balance, two minutes walking, sit and stand for 30 seconds), tests for falling risk with Tetrax, and tests for posture balance with the spine balance 3D. After the baseline tests, two-way repeated-measures ANOVA with contrast testing was used with SPSS 21.0. Alpha was set to 0.05. In the results, the dynamin balance (p=.001), two minutes walking (p=.001), sit and stand for 30 seconds (p=.001), falling risk (p=.002), and posture balance (p=.034) in the EX were significantly different, but not in the CON. Thus, elderly females who performed combined exercise training for 12 weeks can increase their physical fitness & posture stability and reduce their falling risk.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.1081-1091
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• 2004

Purpose: This study was done to identify the risk factors associated with falls among patients with Parkinson's Disease(PD). Method: A retrospective study design was used through the collection of physiological and physical health, and psychosocial functions. Results: Of the 100 participants, fifty-nine(59%) reported one or more falls and seventy-one(71%) reported one or more near-falls. Anaverage 34.7 falls and 150.3 near-falls were reported in the previous year per person. Stage of PD, foot problems, balance, fear of falling, and activities of daily living were significantly associated with an increased risk of falls. Conclusion: The findings confirm the high risk of falling in PD patients. Also these results have implications for developing fall prevention programs for PD patients.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2023

Background: Like many other countries, falls and related injuries in older adults are great concerns in South Korea. In particular, falls are common in medical institutions, often causing the increase of the length of hospitalization. Objects: The purpose of this review was to help understand and address falls in hospitalized individuals in South Korea. Methods: The review was conducted on literature published in Korean from 2010 to 2022, searched in the Korea Citation Index and PubMed. Keywords used for the search were as follows: falls, fall risk, fall risk assessment, hospital, inpatient, intervention, Korea, and prevention. Results: A total of 54 articles were found and reviewed. The most common place of fall accidents was the inpatient room, where there were many cases of falls while walking. Loss of balance was the most common cause of falls, and many falls occurred in patients admitted to the internal medicine. Furthermore, a risk of falling increased with the type of medications taken. In terms of tools to assess patients' fall risk, the Morse Fall Scale (MFS) was commonly used. Patient-specific fall prevention activities were common to address falls, and they decreased the frequency of falls and the fear of falling. Factors influencing the effectiveness of the fall prevention activities included attitudes toward falls, education, environmental factors, patient safety culture, and self-efficacy in preventing falls. Conclusion: Our results should help understand and address falls and injuries in medical institutions.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.278-287
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• 2019

This study was conducted to identify the predictors influencing fear of falling in community-dewelling elderly. A secondary data analysis was performed using data of 65 years or older elderly who participating in the 2014 Korean Elderly Survey(Jun. 11th ~ Sep. 4th 2014). Multivariated logistic regression analysis was used to identify the risk factors of fear of falling. 81.5% of the elderly had fear of falling. There were significant factors, sex(OR=2.87, p<.001), education(OR=1.73, p<.001), presence of cohabiting spouse(OR=1.19, p<.001), experience of falling(OR=6.35, p<.001), arthritis(OR=1.83, p<.001), depression(OR=2.25, p<.001), cognitive deficit (OR=1.24, p<.001), instrumental activities of daily living (OR=1.98, p<.001), exercise(OR=1.29, p<.001) and the number of chronic diseases(over 3: OR=2.53, p<.001, 1~2: OR=1.73, p<.001), predicting fear of falling in community-dwelling elderly. Fear of falling was associated with multifactorial condition, and arthritis was an important factor in chronic disease. This study will provide fundamental information on programming and a policy proposal related to fear of falling.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.233-239
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• 2003

Falling related injuries are categorized as the most serious and common medical problems experienced by the elderly, hip joint fracture, one of the most serious consequences of falling in the elderly, occurs in only about 1% of falling. Nevertheless, hip fracture accounts for a considerable part of the disability, death, and medical costs associated with falling. In this study, we considered the impact angle and displacement rate in falling as another factor affecting femoral strength. Using a fresh-frozen human femur, we developed system to simulate the falling condition and then conducted the experiments changing the impact angle (0$^{\circ}$, 15$^{\circ}$, 30$^{\circ}$) of proximal femur. Also, in order to analyze the relative risk due to falling to normal situation in proximal femur, we did the static test simulating the two-legged stance condition. The results showed that the change in impact angle affected the strain distribution in proximal femur, and that a large deformation in femoral neck than in other sites. Furthermore despite low impact velocity, a large deformation in proximal femur occurred in the impact test and different strain distribution was observed compare to the static case.

• Journal of Korean Society of Disaster and Security
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.79-86
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• 2022

The National Park Service is making efforts to create a safe environment by installing rockfall prevention facilities (rockfall prevention nets, fences, and Piam tunnels) in areas at risk of falling rocks. However, the occurrence of falling rocks is increasing every year due to torrential rains caused by climate change, abnormal temperatures in winter, and aging of the ground, and the need to improve the existing rock risk area management plan has emerged. In this study, a pilot area at risk of falling rocks was selected for the Hwanggol district of Chiaksan National Park among Korean national parks, and rockfall analysis was performed using the Rockfall program, and monitoring was conducted by applying a countermeasure method combined with the measurement system to the pilot area. Through this, a rockfall management plan was proposed for continuous management and monitoring of rockfall.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.676-684
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• 2008

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the risk factors for falls and to suggest data for developing a program for preventing falls. Methods: This was a case-control study in five university hospitals and a general hospital. In total, 216 patients over the age of 18 yr admitted from January 1 to December 31, 2007 participated. One hundred eight patients with experience of falling were matched by gender, age level, diagnosis, and length of stay with 108 patents with no experience of falling admitted on the same unit. A quality assurance coordinator nurse in each hospital examined 35 fall risk factors developed by researchers. Results: In acute hospitals, history of falls, orientation ability, dizziness or vertigo, general weakness, urination problems, transfer/mobility difficulty, walking dependency, impatience, benzodiazepines, diuretics, and vasodilators showed significance on adjusted-odds ratios for fall. Logistic regression analysis was performed to elucidate the factors that influence falls. The probability of falls was increased by dizziness/vertigo, general weakness, and impatience/agitation. Conclusion: This finding can be used as a useful resource in developing nursing intervention programs to predict and prevent the falls of inpatients.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.42-48
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• 2012

The present study was motivated by the needs to make diversified scientific approaches toward influential factors like human, technical, organization, policy and environmental on the basis of the specialized information concerning the cause for industrial accidents in a measure to prevent the falling accident which has the biggest priority among the three major frequent industrial accidents. In this connection, diverse policies have been practiced in the meantime, with little effects in fact to reduce occurrence of industrial accidents, seemingly because such policies have been practiced on the direct dimension, instead of tries to nip in the bud of fundamental causes. This study was thus conducted with a view to determine the causes that have influence on falling accidents from the overall context and unearth the factors requiring management with priority. For this aim, "Fall from Height"(2003), a study by HSE, UK was applied to various conditions of korea as an experiment to search for fundamental causes for falling accidents. The major findings of this study might be summed up as exploring a main critical path that has influence upon falling accidents and suggesting effective ways to cut down through the critical path.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.47-65
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• 2002

This study examined the correlations among the Berg Balance Scale, which is a clinical tool used to evaluate balance ability, spatiotemporal parameters of gait, and falling; determined the parameters most closely related to falling; and identified a discriminatory parameter and its predictability. Thirty-four subjects aged 72 to 92 years participated in this study. Following a questionnaire survey about falling, the Berg Balance Scale and spatiotemporal parameters of gait were measured. The results revealed that the incidence of falls increased with aging and an accompanying reduction in the flexion range of motion of the hip joint. The gait characteristics of elderly people who fell easily included a slower walking speed, shorter stride, and longer stance time than other elderly. When the cutoff score was set at 45, the Berg Balance Scale was able to identify correctly those individuals who truly have experience of falling than when the cutoff score was set at 39. But when the cutoff score was set at 39, the scale's specificity identifying correctly those individuals who truly have not experience of falling was higher than at the cutoff score of 45. Therefore, the Berg Balance Scale is an appropriate screening method in a clinical setting for the early detection of elderly people at risk of falling. In conclusion, elderly people with a Berg Balance Scale score. below 45 are the most likely to fall owing to their decreased balance ability.