• Journal of muscle and joint health
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.373-382
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• 2012

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to compare levels of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) between fallers and non-fallers among community-dwelling elderly people. Methods: A cross-sectional comparative study was conducted with the secondary analysis of 2,067 elderly people registered in S-Gu Visiting Health Care Program in Seoul, South Korea. Participants were 206 fallers and 206 non-fallers who were age- and sex-matched with fallers. HRQOL was measured by SF-8 including physical component summary (physical HRQOL) and mental component summary (mental HRQOL). Results: There were more people in the faller group having more than or equal to three chronic diseases (p<.001), living in multiplex houses (p=.004), and being dependent by the activities of daily living (ADL) (p=.001) and instrumental ADL (IADL) levels (p<.001) than those in the non-faller group. Fallers had higher levels of depression than non-fallers (p<.001). Moreover, fallers had significantly lower levels of both physical HRQOL (p<.001) and mental HRQOL (p=.001), after adjusting for number of chronic diseases, ADL, IADL, depression, healthcare insurance, and living environment. Conclusion: Among the community-dwelling elderly people, falllers had lower levels of HRQOL than non-fallers, and such a difference remained even after the adjustment for covariates. Factors that underlie the different susceptibility to HRQOL need to be explored.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.227-246
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to generate theoretical and policy suggestions on the policy for elderly welfare by comparatively analyzing factors related to life satisfaction for the male and female elderly. The survey subjects were 403 people over 60 years old who lived in J city of Gyeongsangnam-do Province, with 214 male elderly and 189 female elderly participants. Factors, that commonly had aninfluence on life satisfaction in the male and female elderly included subjective health level and subjective economic level. A gender difference was apparent among the male and female elderly for the male elderly, age had a primary influence on life satisfaction. However, for the female elderly, academic background, religion, and frequency of contact with children had a large influence. Accordingly, the female elderly were seen to be influenced more by environment than the male elderly. This study will help to generate a comprehensive understanding of diversity among the male and female elderly, contribute to improving diverse elements in the environment and to laying out a plan an elderly welfare policy that will increase life satisfaction among the male and female elderly, and offer implications for further research that will be conducive to understanding the differences between male and female elderly people.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.25-34
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• 1989

The author performed on epidemiological study of the TMD in 189 elderly people and 195 young people with Helkimo index. The clinical dysfunction index was based on data from clinical examination and the anamestic dysfunction index was based on data from the interview with the investigated person. The results were as follows : 1. In the elderly population, 27.5% reported that they had subjectively symptom of TMD but 43.4% had sign and symptoms of TMD in clinical examination. 2. The mean values for maximal opening differed significantly between elderly and young populations, 47.22mm and 51.44mm (p<0.001) and less than a 40mm opening was observed 7.9% in elderly population, 0.5% in young population (p<0.001). 3. The mean values for lateral movement to the right and left did not differ with age, which were 8.56mm and 8.47mm in elderly population, 8.90mm and 8.81mm in young population, but the mean value for protrusion differed significantly between elderly and young populations, 6.89mm and 7.64mm (p<0.01). 4. A higher incidence of TMJ noise was recorded in the elderly and young populations than young population, especially crepitus, but a higher incidence of clicking was recorded in young population (p<0.05).

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.30 no.9
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• pp.1095-1101
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• 1997

The present paper resents information on the dietary intake and biochemical status of elderly who are living in different types of residence. On hundred and sixty five women(age 65-80 years old) were divided into three groups ; those who are living alone (LA) , living with family (LF) , and living in institutions (LI) within the same general community. Nutrient intake, body fat content, and biochemical measurements in blood and urine were examined statistically and potential environment-related influence are discussed. Elderly women living alone had significantly lower intake of nutrients than elderly women were not living alone LF group showed significantly higher fat consumption than LA and LI groups. Body fat content, plasma albumin and calcium levels in elderly women who lived with other people were significantly higher than those in elderly women living alone, but fat weights and lean body mass between groups were not different. None of the plasma lipid fractions were significantly different among the three groups except LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) concentration. In the LI group, LDL-C was lower than that of LF and LA groups. From the above results, serious nutritional deficiency has been shown in elderly women that live alone. Therefore, nutritional education and social help should be carried out to improve these situations for elderly people.

• The Journal of Korean Medical History
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.61-69
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• 2012

A growing number of people shows deep interests in healthcare and treatments for the elderly with increasing their population. Contrary to general adults, old people have their own physiological and pathological characteristics. Therefore, treatments for the elderly should be different form those for others in younger generation. Alimentotherapy, which means the treatment or prevention by means of food, is one of the best way to deal with geriatrics that are chronic, multiple. Korea has its tradition and plenty of information in this field. Even in the early ChoSun Dynasty, when people suffered from lack of proper medical care, physicians used dietary prescriptions as active treatments, Therefore, we can find lots of cases in "Hyangyak-jibseogbang" and "Euibangyoochui" which are medical books published at that time. After that, a specialized alimentotherapy book, "Sikryochanyo" was written based on that kind of total medical volumes. With development of society, economy. and medical science, alimentotherapy has grown remarkably. Unlike in the early Chosun Dynasty, it was used positively for promoting general health condition and practiced as supportive method for medication in the late Chosun Dynasty. Considering the characteristics of the elderly, alimentotherapy is the most effective way to keep them healthy and can also used with medication.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.83-91
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• 2007

Purpose: This study was done to examine the differences in the fluid volume deficit according to levels of depression and BMI. The results of this study will provide fundamental information for developing nursing interventions for hydration management. Method: The participants were 51 hospitalized elderly people in K province. Data were collected from September 4 to 30, in 2006. A structured questionnaire was used for the data collection. Frequencies, Percentages, Means, Standard Deviation, t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, and Kruskal-Wallis test were used with the SPSS Program to analyze the data. Results: There were significant differences in the fluid volume deficit between elders in the depressed and normal groups. Participants who had a BMI of less than $21kg/m^2$ had the highest fluid volume deficit. Conclusion: Water is an essential part of the human body although it is least studied in elderly people. Health care providers need to increase awareness of the importance of hydration status among hospitalized elderly people with chronic illnesses.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.408-414
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• 2005

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of the sociodemographic and health characteristics on the out-of-pocket health spending of the individuals aged 20 and older in Korea. Methods : We used the data from the 2001 National Public Health and Nutrition Survey. The final sample size was 26,154 persons. Multiple linear regression models were used according to the age groups, that is, one model was used for those people under the age of sixty-five and the other was used for those people aged sixty-five and older. In these analyses, the expenditures were transformed to a logarithmic scale to reduce the skewness of the results. Results : Out-of-pocket health expenditures for those people under the age of 65 averaged 14,800 won per month, whereas expenditures for those people aged 65 and older averaged 27,200 won per month. In the regression analysis, the insurance type, resident area, self-reported health status, acute or chronic condition and bed-disability days were the statistically significant determinants for both age groups. Gender and age were statistically significant determinants only for the non-elderly. Conclusions : The findings from this study show that the mean out-of-pocket health expenditures varied according to the age groups and also several diverse characteristics. Thus, policymakers should consider the out-of-pocket health expenditure differential between the elderly and non-elderly persons. Improvement of the insurance coverage for the economically vulnerable subgroups that were identified in this study should be carefully considered. In addition, it is necessary to assess the impact of out-of-pocket spending on the peoples' health care utilization.

• Korean Institute of Interior Design Journal
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.231-242
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• 2012

The purposes of this study were to identify the needs for ubiquitous home services in residential environment of elderly single or elderly couple households living without children and also to analyze the differences of the needs according to their demographic and housing characteristics. For this study, a literature review and field works on ubiquitous home services for older people were performed. Also, 1 to 1 interview by using the questionnaire which was developed by the researchers in this study was conducted and 270 elderly residents in Seoul and Gyeonggi-Do were responded. Seventy-one ubiquitous service items which were adopted to home electronic appliances and furniture for older people were developed for 1 to 1 interview questionnaire. The major findings of the study were as follows: the elderly residents expressed highest need for ubiquitous home service items related to safety and health issues. Among ubiquitous service items applied to gas stove, vacuum cleaner, TV, telephone, sofa and toilet, the items related to safety and health aspects were most needed. And residents' income level and health status were the two major variables to show group differences in the need of ubiquitous home services. In other words, the elderly residents who were high income and frail tended to have the highest demand for ubiquitous home services adopted to home electronic appliances and furniture.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.61-73
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• 1997

The purpose of this study was to identify the degree of perceived powerlessness and the factors which influence the powerlessness of the elderly. Data were collected by self-reported structured questionnare from 210 subjects living in Kwang-Ju and Che-Ju cities on 5th to 17th February 1996. Data were analyzed using statistical package SAS. The findings were as follows : 1. The mean scores of the degree of perceived powerlessness of the subjects were 58.90 out of 85. The elderly people in Kwang-Ju city perceived more powerlessness than elderly people of Che-Ju city. 2. The factors which influence the powerlessness of the elderly were age, gender, education level, living standard, spouse, former and present job, health condition, family support, social and recreational activities. From the results of this study, to alleviate the powerlessness of the elderly, with the efforts of health maintenance and promotion various community based social activities and support system should be developed for the elderly.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.389-399
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• 2005

Purpose: This study aims to explore general perception types about the life of institutionalized elderly and thus to provide the basic data for nursing intervention for them. Method: This study used a Q methodology. A Q sample was developed through a review of related literature and descriptions of ordinary people about the life of institutionalized elderly. Thirty-eight statements made up the finalized Q sample. Results: The results revealed three different types of the general people's perception about the life of institutionalized elderly. Type 1 is an optimistic group which expects modernized institutions. This group focuses on social relationships enjoying a variety of cultural life. Type 2 is a positive group which pursues independence. They are open-minded about the use of the institution and are not ashamed of the life in the institution. Type 3 is a conservative group which disapproves institutionalization. The members of this group strongly disapprove the institution itself and have negative views on institutionalization. These three types share certain common features while having distinctive characteristics showing individual views and traits about the life of the institutionalized elderly. Conclusion: This study will provide us the basic data to understand institutionalized elderly and to develop nursing intervention for them.