• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.41-53
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• 2013

Objectives: As the size of elderly population living alone grows, socioeconomic diversity has also increased. This study examined if social risk factors of poor self-rated health were distinguishable between the low income elderly and their non-low income counterparts both living alone. Methods: The '2006 Elderly Health Interview Survey' conducted by D-gu in Seoul was utilized. We divided the elderly living alone into two groups depending on their economic status: low income and non-low income. Employing logistic regression, we analyzed the associations of poor self-rated health with socio-demographic factors, health-related factors, social support, the relations with children, social activities, welfare service use, and the perception of neighborhood safety. Results: Proportion of rating one's own health being poor was different between two populations. Social support was important for the self-rated health of the non-low income elderly, while welfare service use, the perception of neighborhood safety, and the relations with children were noticeable for the low income elderly. Conclusions: To better understand the health need of elderly population living alone, their heterogeneity in socioeconomic characteristics should be taken into account.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.145-154
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• 2017

Objectives: This study used data of urban and rural elderly living alone to compare the general characteristics of the elderly who have had suicidal ideation, and to investigate the suicidal ideation of urban-rural elderly with varying degrees of emotional support status, health status, and health behavior. Methods and materials: The research participants included 2,750 elderly aged 65 or above, of which 1,487 were from dong unit and 1,263 were from eup myeon units according to the raw data of 2011 Survey on Elderly Status. All collected data were analyzed using cross tabulation of SPSSWIN(ver 21.0) program and multivariate logistic regression. Results: The results were as follows. First, the factors that influenced the suicidal ideation of urban and rural elderly living alone included degree of depression, experience of abuse, and nutritional management status. Second, the suicidal ideation of urban elderly living alone was affected by the emotional support of their children who live apart and their grandchildren. Third, the suicidal ideation of rural elderly living alone was affected by the emotional support of their kin (including siblings).

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.47 no.5
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• pp.59-66
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• 2009

The present study identified the patterns of support exchange between the elderly living alone and their children in a metropolitan city in Japan and examined the relationships between the patterns of support exchange and their life satisfaction. The sample was collected from 1,020 the elderly living alone in Osaka city selected with random sampling method. The questionnaires were mailed to the respondents, who were asked to send them back. The response rate was 51.7%(n = 526). We used 371 sample of respondents who have children. The results indicated that:(1)the patterns of support exchange were different by the types of social support, (2)the life satisfaction of the elderly who had an appropriate balance of a support exchange pattern was significantly higher than the life satisfaction of those who had low support exchange or only provided supports to their children. The findings imply that an appropriate balance of support exchange between the elderly living alone and their children was crucial in improving life satisfaction of the elderly living alone.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Rural Health Nursing
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2021

Purpose: This study was aimed to compare health promotion behaviors and safety consciousness for elderly women living alone in rural areas and elderly women in group homes, and then provide information for the development of safety awareness programs for elderly. Methods: The participants were 120 elderly women living alone in rural areas aged 65 or older and 120 elderly women living in group homes. The data collection was conducted during November 2020, and the collected data used the SPSS/WIN 25.0 program to verify frequency, percentage, average, standard deviation, and independent t test. Results: There were significant differences of health promotion behaviors between elderly women living alone and elderly women in group homes (t=15.77, p<.001). In addition, there were significant differences of safety consciousness between elderly women living alone and elderly women in group homes (t=21.42, p<.001). Conclusion: Since the safety consciousness and health promotion behaviors of the elderly in group homes are significantly higher than that of the elderly living alone, various programs should be developed to improve the safety consciousness and health promotion behaviors in the elderly living alone. Based on local government' acts, continuous support and attention is needed that elderly women in group homes can maintain a healthy life.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.227-239
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• 2022

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the differences in the reciprocal causal relationship between cognitive function and depressive symptoms depending on whether older adults lived with others or alone. Methods: We used panel data retrieved from the sixth (Time 1) and seventh (Time 2) waves of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA). The study sample included 2,638 older adults living with others and 628 older adults living alone. We conducted cross-lagged panel analyses (CLPA) to identify the bidirectional causal relationship between cognitive function and depressive symptoms in the groups of older adults living with others and those living alone. Results: In the group of older adults living with others, cognitive function and depressive symptoms showed significant reciprocal relationships. In the group of older adults living alone, although the CLPA confirmed that higher levels of depressive symptoms at Time 1 influenced lower levels of cognitive function at Time 2, cognitive function at Time 1 was not associated with depressive symptoms at Time 2. Conclusion: The results suggest that the strategies for preventing cognitive decline and depressive symptoms should be developed according to whether the older adults live alone. Moreover, further studies should identify factors influencing depressive symptoms among older adults living alone, which will ultimately enable the management of depressive symptoms.

• 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.

• Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.159-163
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• 2002

A survey was performed to 238 male young men who were living alone (104 persons) or living with roommates (134 persons). Their average age was 22.6 years old, height 171.8cm, and weight 65.6kg. Their daily calcium intake level was averaged 271.9 $\pm$ 169.1mg, which was 38.8% of Korean Recommended Dietary Allowances(RDA). Comparing calcium intake of each mealtime, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks were composed of 18.6%, 30.0%, 34.0% and 17.4%, respectively. Their daily iron intake level was averaged 8.9 $\pm$ 10.8mg, which was 74.3% of Korean RDA. Comparing iron intake of each mealtime, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks were composed of 15.4%, 33.6%, 36.3% and 14.7%, respectively. Deficiency of these minerals in young male adults were severe and the nutrient qualities were also poor and the deficiency was more profound in calcium than in iron. And we observed iron nutrition differed significantly according to their living status, such as iron intake and its %RDA were significantly worse in single living subjects than the other. However calcium did not show significant difference. It was found mineral intake, especially iron, could be improved in young men living with roommates than living alone and regular breakfast could improve calcium and iron intakes. (J Community Nutrition 4(3) : 159~5163, 2002)

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.18 no.12
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• pp.443-451
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• 2017

The purpose of this research is to examine ways to improve the quality of life of elderly people living alone in urban areas by identifying their stress, social support, and quality of life as well as analyzing the relationships between these factors. In this research, a questionnaire survey was conducted for approximately two weeks including 232 elderly people aged 65 years and above who were using 10 senior welfare centers in the Seoul and Gyeonggi regions. The results of the analysis based on the collected data showed that of the stresses experienced by elderly people living alone in urban areas, the stresses of health, family, and psychological and social stresses had negative effects on social support and quality of life. Also, it was found that the social support of elderly people living alone had positive effects on the quality of life. Additionally, it was found that social support had a mediating effect in the relationship between stress and quality of life of elderly people living alone in urban areas. In other words, social support plays a buffer role in enhancing the quality of life regarding health, family, economy, and psychological and social stresses. This research has significant implications in that it was conducted on elderly people living alone, since elderly people living alone are not only under more stressful circumstances in a vulnerable environment than other seniors but also their quality of life is much lower. The implications of this research are that, from a social point of view, these elderly people living alone should no longer be neglected and that differentiated policy interventions for elderly people living alone is required.

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.595-615
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• 2015

This study aims to develop well-being enhancement program for the female elderly living alone, and examine its effects. The program was structured by exploring the meaning of life and happiness with focused on self-disclosure, dealing with regret and resentment, forgiveness, gratitude, and resilience. At first, pilot program was applied to 6 female elderly living alone for predicting the effects and modified the program. For verification of the program effect, 11 female elderly living alone were assigned to developed well-being enhancement program, also 11 female elderly living alone were assigned to comparison group who participate in activity-focused program, and 12 female elderly living alone were assigned to control group. Results indicated that regret for interpersonal relations and resentment of the female elderly living alone who participate in well-being enhancement program were reduced after participating the program, while their self-disclosure increased. The female elderly living alone who participate in well-being enhancement program showed lowered level of anxiety, loneliness, and awareness of aging, which were factors of well-bing in senescence. Moreover, their level of negative emotion was decreased, and life satisfaction, positive emotion, and happiness were increased after participating the program. But, all of those enhancement were not found in control group as well as comparison group. These results suggest that well-being enhancement program for the female elderly living alone developed in this study could be utilized in various settings.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.264-273
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• 2012

This study analyzes the food frequency for the elderly regarding different family types and finds the factors for nutritional risk, offers a basic reference for providing nutritional support for them. The study referred to the dietary behavioral survey data of 3,680 elderly people (1652 male and 2028 female) from 21 regions in the northern Kyeonggi province. The data was collected through the method of one-to-one interviews and was a part of the Community Health Survey for 2008 by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). We classified family types as a household for elderly people living alone, a household of elderly people with a spouse, a household of the elderly with unmarried children and a household of the elderly with married children, and as for intakes of foods, the frequencies of taking fruits, vegetables, kimchi, rice with mixed cereals, meat, fish, bean tofu soymilk, milk and dairy products, as well as sweet beverages are calculated on a daily basis and skipped meals are calculated on a weekly basis. Elderly women showed lower income, lower education level, higher unemployment rates, and a higher rate of government healthcare subsidies than elderly men. Elderly women tend to live alone and with their children while elderly men tend to live with their spouse. In both males and females, the intake of fruits and vegetables were the least in the elderly living alone, while the elderly with married children ate the most. In both males and females, the household of the elderly living alone ate significantly less amounts of Kimchi than other family types. Elderly people living alone tended to have significantly less meat and fish, especially women. In the case of rice with mixed cereals, the elderly men living alone and the elderly men with unmarried children ate significantly less amounts than the elderly men living with a spouse. The elderly men living alone took significantly less milk and dairy products than the elderly men with unmarried children while the elderly women living with a spouse took significantly less milk and dairy products than the elderly women with married children. With regards to the frequency of meal-skipping, the elderly living alone had the highest frequency for skipping meals. From this result, having various foods is difficult for the elderly living alone. Furthermore, the elderly living with unmarried children demonstrated a low quality of dietary life compared to those of married children. Hence, it can be concluded that social support is important in order for the elderly to have a balanced diet.