• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.239-249
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• 2013

Subclinical vitamin $B_{12}$ deficiency is common in the elderly worldwide. We investigated the change of serum vitamin $B_{12}$ concentration with aging and compared anthropometric data and clinical health indicators between normal (${\geq}$ 340 pg/mL) and low (< 340 pg/mL) serum vitamin $B_{12}$ groups in 470 Korean women aged 65 years and over living in a rural area. Serum vitamin $B_{12}$ concentration showed inverse correlation with age (r = -0.0992, p < 0.05). The normal $B_{12}$ group showed significantly (p < 0.05) higher red blood cell count, hemoglobin, and hematocrit compared to the low $B_{12}$ group, however, no difference in mean corpuscular volume was observed between the two groups. The normal $B_{12}$ group showed significantly lower serum homocysteine concentration (p < 0.01) and prevalence of vitamin D (p < 0.01) or folate deficiency (p < 0.001). Bone mineral density (T-score) was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the normal $B_{12}$ group, compared with that in the low $B_{12}$ group, and showed positive correlation (r = 0.1490, p < 0.01) with serum vitamin $B_{12}$ concentration after adjusting for age, body weight, and body mass index. No differences in anthropometric data, physical activity, and smoking and drinking habits were observed between the two groups. In conclusion, it could be suggested that older female adults with normal serum vitamin $B_{12}$ level would be less anemic and osteoporotic and more resistant to hyperhomocysteinemia associated chronic diseases than those with low serum vitamin $B_{12}$ level.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.73-88
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• 2005

As the proportion of the elderly population in rural Korea has increased rapidly, the quality of life of the rural elderly has become a major public and policy concern. In this regards, most of the researches on rural elderly have focused mainly on the 'risk factors or problems' of rural areas, ignoring the 'positive or protective aspects' of rural community on the quality of life of elderly. This study attempts to explore the possible positive influence of rural community on the quality of life of elderly and to examine the linkage among ecological characteristics of the communities, social interaction and quality of life of rural elderly. To achieve this goal, a community case study was conducted in four Korean rural villages. The data were collected using participant observation method and in-depth interviews (person-to-person, group interviews). All the interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim for the analysis. The data was analyzed using the reflective qualitative analytic technique. The major findings of this study are as follows : All of the four villages have strong community ties and provide contexts which make it possible for older people to share their everyday life with neighbors and to actively participate as a community member. Although the four villages were geographically not far from each other, the pattern of social interaction and the nature of everyday-life of the elderly were nevertheless different depending on the ecological environment of each community, the relationship history among the community members, and the shared experience of historical events in recent Korean history. Elderly men have smaller networks and have less frequent contact with community members than elderly women. The political and practical implications of this study are discussed.

• Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.15-24
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• 2023

The sense of crisis regarding regional extinction due to low birth rates and an aging population is expanding. Generally, the local extinction index is used to analyze local extinction. However, it is challenging to diagnose the actual situation of village extinction risk in rural areas, even though the regional extinction index can be analyzed in units such as Si-Gun-Gu and Eup-Myeon-Dong. This difficulty arises because the regional extinction index solely relies on natural population growth indicators (elderly population and female population aged 20-39). Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop a village extinction index that can identify the disappearance of rural villages. Additionally, the aim is to apply the developed indicators to the village (administrative ri) spatial unit. The existing regional extinction index used only mortality-related indicators as factors for natural population decline and fertility-related indicators as factors for natural population growth. However, the developed village extinction index included not only the factors of natural population change but also incorporated social population growth factors and factors related to the pace of village extinction. This is the key difference between the developed village extinction index and the existing regional extinction index. In this study, the indicators of "total population," "number of young women aged 20-44," "number of elderly population aged 70 or older," and "number of incoming population" were selected to develop a village extinction index. The village extinction index was developed by incorporating both natural population growth indicators and social population growth indicators. The developed village extinction index was applied to administrative villages. This research is expected to provide a more accurate understanding of the current state of rural villages facing extinction.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.16-25
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• 1985

To evaluate the health status of the aged in rural area, 476 men and women of 65 years old and older among the residents of Gunwee County in Kyungpook were examined at the county health center between 4th and 22nd of June, 1984. Physical examination included measuring height, weight, chest circumference and blood pressure and chest x-ray. Laboratory tests were done for serum cholesterol, glucose and GOT, and urine glucose and protein. The mean heights of male and female were 160${\pm}$7.0cm and 147.7${\pm}$6.9cm, respectively. The height decreased as the age increased. The mean body weight of male was 53.5${\pm}$7.8kg and 46.7${\pm}$7.5kg for female and the older, the eighter. The mean chest circumference of male was 85.4${\pm}$7.5cm and 79.5${\pm}$79cm for female and it had no remarkable differences by age group. The average height, body weight, chest circumference, and serum cholesterol level of the age 65 years and older in rural area were lower than the standard this may be due to undernutrition of the aged. The mean diastolic and systolic blood pressure of male were 75.9${\pm}$13.5 mmHg/126.3${\pm}$24.1 mmHg and those for female were 73.1${\pm}$13.9 mmHg/125.8${\pm}$32.4 mmHg. Both male an d female in the age group of 65-69 years showed the lowest mean blood pressure. Among the study population 18.3% the borderlin hypertension and 14.3% had hypertension. Average hemoglobin level of the male(12.5${\pm}$0.8 g/dl) was higher than that of the female(11.6${\pm}$0.8 g/dl) (p < 0.01). Mean serum G.O.T. level was 25.2${\pm}$8.7 IU for male and 23.6${\pm}$7.5 IU for female and all of the study population were within the normal range. Mean serum glucose level was 110.4${\pm}$16.0 mg/dl for the male and 110.5${\pm}$15.7 mg /dl for the female and 41.4% of the study population were above the normal limit of serum glucose level. However, there was only one person she had glycosuria. Hyperglycemia could be due to non-fasting before the test. Two of the study population had proteinuria and five persons (1.05%) were diagnosed as pulmonary tuberculosis by the chest x-ray.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.405-415
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• 2019

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the associations of frailty with perceived neighborhood walkability and environmental pollution among community-dwelling older adults in rural areas. Methods: The participants were 808 community-dwelling men and women aged 65 years and older in 2 rural towns. Comprehensive information, including demographics, socioeconomic status, grip strength, polypharmacy, perceived neighborhood environment (specifically, walkability and environmental pollution), and frailty, was collected from participants using face-to-face interviews conducted between June and August 2018. Perceived neighborhood walkability was measured using 20 items that were selected and revised from the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale, the Neighborhood Walkability Checklist from the National Heart Foundation of Australia, and the Physical Activity Neighborhood Environment Survey. The Kaigo-Yobo Checklist was used to assess participants' frailty. Results: The overall prevalence of frailty in this community-dwelling population was 35.5%. Sex, age, cohabitation status, educational attainment, employment status, grip strength, and polypharmacy were significantly associated with frailty. In the logistic regression analysis, frailty was associated with low perceived neighborhood walkability (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.881; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.833 to 0.932; p<0.001) and severe perceived neighborhood environmental pollution (aOR, 1.052; 95% CI, 1.017 to 1.087; p=0.003) after adjusting for sex, age, cohabitation status, educational attainment, employment status, monthly income, grip strength, and polypharmacy. Conclusions: More studies are warranted to establish causal relationships between walkability and environmental pollution and frailty.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.423-432
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• 2015

Objectives: In Korea, the percentage of elderly is increasing at an unprecedented rate, and is expected to account for 40% of the population by 2060. This massive demographic change stresses the importance of research on aging as it is necessary to improve the quality of life (QoL) of this population. This study aimed to examine the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of the rural elderly and to clarify its association with the nutrient adequacy ratio (NAR). Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed in S-gun, Chonbuk, a critical agricultural area. The elderly people without abnormal physical functioning composed our study population and the data were collected by personal visits to 336 elderly people aged over 65 years (110 males and 226 females). Subjects were interviewed with questionnaires pertaining to general characteristics and EuroQol (EQ-5D). Nutrient intakes were assessed two days by 24-hours recall method. Subjects were defined as high QOL group if EQ-5D index with Nam's model was above the median. Results: Generally, EQ-5D index was lower in women than in man, and lower in older subjects than in younger subjects. The percentages of people below the median were 42% (low QoL group) and 58% (high QoL group) were found to be the above the median. The high QoL group had higher NAR, especially for vitamin C, vitamin B1, vitamin B2 and folate. All dimensions in the EQ-5D were affected by NAR of some nutrients and especially anxiety/depression dimension was significantly correlated with NAR of 5 nutrients (protein, calcium, iron, vitamin C and vitamin B1) and EQ-5D scores. Conclusions: HRQol was significantly reduced in elderly with increasing age and this was more pronounced in women than in man. The NAR of some nutrients were associated with the EQ-5D index, especially anxiety/depression dimension, among rural elderly.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.1091-1095
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• 2015

Cancers can be detected in early stages through awareness of suspicious symptoms or by specific actions undertaken by individuals or participation in medical checks or screening programmes. The present research had three objectives: to assess the knowledge of Romanian women who have relatives with cancer with regard to cancer symptoms and detection methods; to identify socio-demographics factors influencing their level of knowledge; provide information regarding the attitudes of women from the study regarding medical help-seeking in case of any symptom which might be associated with cancer. This cross-sectional study was performed in an oncological hospital from Cluj-Napoca, Romania. It involved 160 women aged 18-70 years, who had relatives with cancer. An anonymous questionnaire was filled in by the participants. The results showed that around 10% of the study sample recognized all the 8 listed symptoms associated with cancer and all the 7 listed methods for cancer detection. The results of the linear regression analyses show that the level of knowledge regarding both symptoms and methods for detection was higher among younger women (B=-0.390, p<0.01, respectively B=-0.260; p<0.01), among those living in urban areas (B=0.872, p<0.01, respectively B=0.676; p<0.01) and those having higher educational level (B=0.883, p<0.001, respectively B=0.536; p<0.001). The majority of the participants agreed with the importance of looking for medical help within weeks up to one month in case that a symptom which might be associated with cancer was observed. The study underlines the necessity that much more information should be given to women who have relatives with cancer about what they can do to detect cancer in an early stage. This is especially needed for older women, women living in rural areas and women having a lower educational level.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.97-113
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• 2001

At the opening of a new millennium and a new century, health promotion and education services in Korea are in the early developmental stage. The National Health Promotion Act legislated in 1995 was a milestone for initiating a national and local health promotion program in Korea. And since then local governments and health centers have been developing and providing health promotion program for the community populations. The short history of health promotion and education in Korea has meant that local governments and health centers have a limited experience and organizational capacity for health promotion and education planing and practice. This study was attempted to measure health education need of rural community and to analyze the factors for health education need assessment. Surveyors interviewed 1250 subjects randomly selected. Subjects were 2.17% of men and women in Changnyung county and older then 20 years old. Data were collected from April 17, 2000 through April 27, 2000. The questionnaire consisted of general characteristics, health educational experiences, health educational method, health educational content and health educational needs for rural community residents. The questions on the health educational needs of content consist of 36 questions in 8 fields. The statistical methods used for the analysis were $X^2$-test, t-test, F-ratio and ANOVA using SPSS program. In conclusion, despite more needs to the respondents who are in the low education level and socioeconomic state, in the old age, in the low health knowledge, they required less health education. To enjoy a more healthy life after more community residents actively understand and are interested in health education and health promotion, we certainly require a designed and systemic health education. The resources of health department in Korea are limited and the investment involved in health promotion and health education is severely reduced. Particularly this situation is more severe in the rural community. To select and perform an effective health education methods that the nature and reality of the rural community are considered, well use the resources to invest in health promotion affairs as effectively as possible and then they will take the responsibility of healthy community.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.15 no.12
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• pp.413-421
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the convergence program using traditional play on the depression, sense of belonging and suicidal ideation in rural elderly women. This study of participants were 42 elderly women aged 65 years old or older in K province(Experimental group= 20, Control group = 22). The data collected from July 17 to August 23, 2017. The experimental group participated in a total of 12 sessions of traditional play program for 50minutes twice a week. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, $x^2$-test, and independent t-test. There were significant differences in depression(t=-4.86, p<.001) and sense of belonging(t=4.611, p<.001) of participants between experimental group and control group after end of the program. Therefore, the program was effective in improving depression and sense of belonging in rural women. We propose further study to confirm the usefulness of the program by expanding the area.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.195-205
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• 2008

Purpose: This study was conducted to identify drug use by elders. Method: There were 304 participants age 65 or older included in this study. Data were collected using a questionnaire about drug use in the past 4 weeks. The questionnaire, a modification of Uhm's (2005), Lee's (2001), and Ellor and Kurz's (1982) tools, consisted of 17 questions on general and health characteristics, 17 on drug usage and 9 on behaviors related to drug misuse. Results: 85.5% of participants reported laking at least one type of prescription or non-prescription drug. 26.0% of participants reported taking only prescription drugs, 3.9% reported taking only non-prescription drugs, and 55.6% reported taking both prescription and non-prescription drugs. 17.1% of participants reported side effects from the drugs. The mean score for behaviors related to drug misuse was 7.53. Elders taking only non-prescription drugs showed more drug misuse than elders taking only prescription drugs or both. Women used more prescription, non-prescription drugs or both than man. Elders in rural areas used more non-prescription drugs than those in urban areas. Conclusion: Even though pharmacies were separated from medical practices in 2000, most older adults continue to use and misuse prescription and non-prescription drugs.