• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.85-97
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• 2000

The goal of this study is mainly to improve the quality of life for the elderly by understanding the actual condition of the home management which includes their family relationship, family finance, and household work carried out in their domestic lives and diagnosing problems possibly restated from the condition. The result includes the following. The characteristics of rural elderly living alone: They have lived in rural area since their marriage which is over 40 years long in average, The tend to be satisfied with living apart themselves. The majority of the families are the first son in their family. In home management regard: First, in family relationship, the way the elderly in their nuclear family state communicate with their spouse is limited, and they hardly speaks together. So it is encouraged for couples to forge their own specific relationship and to plan for their odd age in their younger age. Also, they tend to be satisfied with living separated from their children, but at the same time, the closer they live in distance from their children, the more often they meet their children as well as they talk on the phone. They especially depend on their first son for offerings for ancestors and matters to occur after their death, while they get emotional support from daughters. Second, in family finance, their income varies in range from 200,000 to 3,000,000 won. In the majority f the famines, the wives are in charge of finance. The cost of living is mainly spent on flood, clothing, and housing, or the cost of offerings for ancestors if they are the head family. Third, Meanwhile, the housewives under 70 years old are positive about household work and tend to consider it pleasant for their children and their husband. Generally, the older they are, the more they dislike household labor. For example, food preparation is especially considered a major problem. Community dinning rooms, food delivery service, volunteers, and home helper and neighborhood could be help.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.252-263
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• 2012

The present study was performed to evaluate dietary behavior, food intake, and satisfaction with food-related life regarding the elderly residing in different regions of Korea. The survey was conducted on 631 individuals over 55 years old in either urban or rural areas. The survey was carried out using a questionnaire including dietary behavior, mini dietary assessment, and a food frequency questionnaire. The average age of the rural elderly was higher than that of the urban elderly whereas, education level and economic status were higher in the urban elderly compared to the rural elderly. The intake of dairy products, meats, instant foods, snacks, and the use of nutrient supplementation were significantly higher in the urban elderly than those of the rural elderly (p = 0.000). The intake of vegetables was significantly higher in the rural elderly (p = 0000). Furthermore, the rural elderly were more satisfied with food-related life and had better balanced diets than those of the urban elderly. Taken together, the results of this study revealed that customized nutritional management and education for adequate meals in different regions should be developed and provided in order to improve the quality of healthy living for the elderly.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.159-174
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• 2006

The purpose of this study is to provide information searching for health promotion, nutrition improvement, and health care of the impaired elderly by ADL(Activity of Daily Living) and IADL(Instrumental Activity of Daily Living). The subjects were divided into the Assistant Needed Group and No Assistant Needed Group for living in line with the responses of ADL(10 items like dressing, washing, move etc.) and IADL(10 items like housekeeping, using transportation, shopping, Phone call etc.). Survey was made for health behavior, health risk habit, dietary management status and diet intake by 24 hr-recall and questionnaire method. 242 subjects were collected in 12 cities or Gun districts in Gyeonggi Province, S. Korea. Survey was carried out by regional home extension workers using interview method. Statistical analyses were made using SAS (Version 8.1). Chi-Square Tests and General Linear Models. The subjects of impaired ADL elderly was 26.5% and it composed 30% of the total male and 22.2% of the total female. The demographic status of the impaired ADL elderly showed no difference from that of the normal elders, elementary school educated (73.4%), with spouse (43.8%) or with adult children(37.5%), using monthly living cost of 500-1,000 thousand won(35.9%). Mean age was 74.05 years compared to 72.25 years of normal elders. However, there was no significant difference from the normal and impaired ADL group, regular exercise(60.0%), with walking (90.0%), no-smoke(54.7%) and no-drink(48.4%). Kind of disease was not different from the one in impaired and normal group, with cardiovascular disease(32.3%), with diabetes mellitus(8.1%), joint lumbago neuralgia(32.3%) and osteoporosis(9.7%). Gastrointestinal complaints of the impaired ADL group were nausea(57.8%), chronic indigestion (23.4%), constipation (14,0%) and vomiting(3.7%). Sleeping time required for the impaired was longer than that for the normal group by 10hours(4.7%) or 8-10hours(20.3%), which consisted 1.7% and 16.6% respectively. Nutrient intake of the impaired ADL group was low compared to normal range elders: Energy(1260kca1), Protein(52.75g). There was gender difference in nutrient intake; the male impaired group showed no significant difference from the normal group but it was significantly lower in female impaired group. These results suggest that low quality of life and low economic status of the impaired ADL elderly require congregate meal in village hall to cover the lack of side dishe variety. And nutrition education program including community assistance would be required for the impaired ADL elderly together with the sufficient food and exercise practice. By operating nutrition education program, the impaired ADL elderly would maintain more enhanced quality of life and ameliorate the ADL capability.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.139-167
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• 2009

A new public insurance for long-term care was introduced in July 2008 to provide for the rising demand for long-term care as the population is aging rapidly. The demand for long-term care is expected to rise further because more and more elderly are living alone or in households with only other elderly, such as his/her spouse, without informal care of their adult children. Even when the elderly are living together with their adult children, daughters and daughters in law, once the main informal care-givers, are not available because they choose to become economically active and work more over time. Experiences of countries such as Japan and Germany with similar public long-term care insurance scheme highlight the importance of detailed analysis on the demand for long-term care for the financial stability of the insurance scheme. Countries which had underestimated the demand for long-term care at the time of adopting the scheme went through financial instability of insurance schemes. This study analyzes the determinants of the demand for long-term care using data from the second demonstration project (April 2006~April 2007) of the long-term care insurance scheme for the elderly in Korea. Taking full advantage of detailed data on the long-term care, this paper analyzes the eligibility for the long-term care insurance scheme and its use. According to study results, even when common diseases among the elderly such as cancer, diabetes, arthritis, dementia, hypertension, etc. are controlled together with other individual and socioeconomic factors, limitations the elderly are faced with in their twelve activities of daily living significantly affect the eligibility for the Korean Long-term Care Insurance Scheme. This means that limitations in daily living activities are more critical than common diseases among the elderly are to the eligibility for the Korean Long-term Care Insurance Scheme. Bathing and toileting problems have been found to be the most important factor affecting the eligibility for the insurance scheme, followed by eating, dressing and moving around inside the house. Moreover, the choices of whether to use long-term care and which to use between home care and institutional care are found to be significantly influenced by health status and various socioeconomic factors of the elderly. In particular, those with more limitations in daily living activities and the female elderly are more likely to use long-term care and institutional care rather than home care. As for home care users, those living alone or with adult children and those with monthly household income of more than 500,000 won are more likely to use home care. Most importantly, even when the monthly household income of the elderly is controlled, the elderly recipients of the National Basic Living Security, who are not charged for long-term care, are more likely to choose home care. This implies that price as well as income is a critical factor for the decision to use long-term care. Further study on the duration of long-term care use will surely enhance the long-term care policy, when panel data is available for simultaneous analysis of the likelihood of long-term care use and its use duration.

• KIEAE Journal
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.29-43
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• 2015

Shared housing for elderly people, where several elderly people live together, gains attention as a means to prevent the lonely death of elderly people and continuously maintain their social relations. The purpose of this study is to compare the characteristics planned through rural and urban areas-residing elderly people's participation in the shared housing spatial composition by area. This study conducted a small scale workshop panel method that targeted small group, but through which extensive information can be acquired, as a qualitative method. This study targeted 16 elderly people aged 65 and over living in rented apartments in rural and urban areas by dividing them two groups by area, namely into four groups. A total of 12 workshop sessions were held with three sessions at a time through a certain time interval. As a result of the study, the elderly people showed positive responses to the shared housing, irrelevant of area. As time went on, the workshop panel method's effect was revealed through consolidated positive attitude and agreement of different opinions. The shared housing for elderly people is valuable as a residential alternative for elderly people, and differentiated supply of the shared housing for elderly people, according to residential area's characteristics, is suggested.

• Journal of the Korean housing association
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.77-86
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to examine the household characteristics, the actual residential environment of the elderly living with their offsprings together in Gwangju. We also evaluated their satisfaction with the needs for remodeling of their houses and the different opinions about those things between the elderly and their off springs. We used comparative and descriptive T-test in statistical analysis. The results were as follows. There were more families living in the detached houses than those living in the apartments. The average size of the houses was 100.8 square meters. The mean residence period was 13.5 years. The sons were usually the legal householders. The residents who experienced remodeling before reassigned the furniture and installed the bathtub, which was designed to be sat on comfortably in a common. A few residents installed safety system such as alarms for incident fire or gas, convenient knobs for handling and faucets for running hot or cold water separately. After the installation of alarms, convenient knobs of windows or door, Customer satisfaction for those things were quite high. But that for the installation of safety bar were the lowest in contrast. The most things the old wanted to change were to rearrange bedrooms and bathrooms on the first floor and to decorate them in westernized styles. They didn't need to set up safety bars or shower instrument for modulating heights. The second generation wanted to install the blinds or curtains more than the third generations.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.297-308
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• 2008

Previous research on elderly care in rural areas has focused on inter-generational support, ignoring the possibility of elderly care among community members in the rural areas of Korea. This study attempts to explore the roles and potentials of community-based elderly care in rural areas where nearby family or formal services are unavailable. For this purpose, data was collected from the elderly in three Korean rural villages using qualitative case study methods. Each village was studied as a separate case study and in-depth interviews with the elderly in each village were conducted. All interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim for the analysis. The data was analyzed using the Reflective Qualitative Analytic Technique. Results showed that rural elderly in all three villages had lunch, talked, and played together; almost everyday in the winter. However, the nature of care among rural elderly varied depending on the characteristics of the rural community (the traditional rural, the rural mixed with the urban, and the neighboring rural with the urban). Specifically, the use of mutual aids (providing food, repairing housing, and checking personal safety by telephone or visit, etc.) was most consistent at the traditional rural village. Because both the rural village mixed with the urban and the neighboring rural village with urban have better access to many aids and programs from formal institutions, mutual aids among community members decreased compared with the traditional rural village. However, regular group activities such as sports, dancing or debate help to provide pleasure and integrate the community. These results suggest that community relationships as a substitution for social support provide by family or formal services can be utilized in rural areas.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.30-38
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• 2002

The purpose of this study was to compare the Depression levels of the poor and elderly as well as the elderly who were residents in a community. The author studied the Depression levels of 117 poor and elderly individuals and 183 elderly individuals all 65 years or older living in Suwon City. This study has been done using a direct-interview structured Questionnaire and Korean Form of Geriatric Depression Scale (KGDS) from May to July in 1999. The results can be summarized as following: 1. With Case and Control group there was no significant difference with respect to gender, age, education level, or religion. But was significantly different regarding marriage state, if subjects were living together, type of residency, province, and place of toilet(P<0.05). 2. Smoking and Hwa-pyung was a large number of case group more than control group. and alcohol was more control group than case group(P<0.05). 3. There was a similiar taking medicine and kind of body symtom of case and control group. 4. The mean score of perceived KGDS of the poor elderlys was 17.87+/-5.97 out of 30. and that of the elderlys was 13.35+/-6.00 out of 30(P<0.001). 5. In a simple correlation analysis of elderlys. education, marital status. residency, son and daughter, position of toilet, elderly center, alcohol, Wha-byung, disease. 6. In a multiple regression analysis, Hwa-byung, elderly center, education, smoking, disease, son and daughter.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.555-568
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• 2004

The current national pension system tends to be sexually discriminatory in that it excludes elderly women. It is because the system is based on family incomes usually earned by men. Considering structural changes in a family - for example, a growing divorce rate, an increasing number of unmarried couples living together, and broken families - and socio-economic changes - such as an improved level of women's education and more female participation in economic activities, this paper will make some suggestions as follows: 1) to introduce basic pension system which guarantees incomes for the elderly with "one pension per person" policy; 2) to enlarge voluntary enrollment; 3) to implement pension credit system which pays women allowances for childbirth and upbringing; 4) to improve ways of allotting retirement pension of a husband; also to provide for an elderly woman both divided pension that derives from her husband's pension and an old-age pension of her own.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.34 no.7
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• pp.1288-1297
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• 2004

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors influencing health promoting lifestyle in the elderly. Method: The subject of this study was 305 elderly person over the age of 60, living in rural and urban, Korea. For the analysis of collected data, descriptive statistics, t-test, analysis of variance and stepwise multiple regression were used for statistical analysis with SPSS statistical program. Results: The average item score for the health promoting lifestyle was 2.46, The higher score on the subscale was nutrition(2.65). The lowest score on the subscale were physical activity(2,36) and stress management(2,36). General characteristics showing statistically significant difference in health promoting lifestyle were age, residential district, live together spouse, education, religion and pocket money in the elderly. Stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that the most powerful predictor of health promoting lifestyle in the elderly was prior related behavior(R2=.554). A combination of prior related behavior, perceived benefits of action, perceived self-efficacy, commitment to a plan of action, and interpersonal influences accounted for $64.3\%$ of the variance in health promoting lifestyle in the elderly, Conclusion: The factors influencing on health promoting lifestyle for elderly were prior related behavior, perceived benefits of action, perceived self-efficacy, commitment to a plan of action, and interpersonal influences.