• Journal of Korean Academy of Rural Health Nursing
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.99-105
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• 2023

Purpose: This study aims to develop a shared forest walking program and verify its effects on self-esteem, life satisfaction, and depression among older adults living alone in rural communities. Methods: Participants were assigned to an experimental or a control group, with 20 participants each. Data collected during August 1~3, 2022, before the program, and October 29~31, 2022, after the program. In this study, the shared forest walking program was conducted twice a week for a total of 24 sessions, with each session lasting one hour. All data were analyzed using SPSS version 18.0, x² tests, and t-tests. Results: The experimental group participating in the sharing forest walking program showed higher self-esteem and life satisfaction than the control group, along with a decrease in depression. Additionally, there were statistically significant differences in self-esteem (t=5.97, p<.001), life satisfaction (t=7.78, p<.001), and depression (t=-7.58, p<.001). Conclusion: The shared forest walking program, developed based on the results of this study, improved self-esteem and; life satisfaction; and reduced depression among older adults living alone in rural communities. We propose the development of a continuous program to assist older adults living alone in underprivileged rural areas to experience retirement with reduced depression, increased self-esteem, and enhanced life satisfaction.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.260-269
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• 2008

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify differences in health status and the utilization of long-term care service between urban and rural aged residents in Korea. Methods: Through convenience sampling, 1,405 elders (829 from urban areas and 576 from rural areas) were selected during March 1 to May 31 in 2004. All the subjects agreed to participate and filled out the survey questionnaire after signing the consent form. The instruments utilized in this study were the impairment of physio-sensory function, ADL IADL, cognitive function, and psycho-social function scale. This instrument was developed by modifying the scab developed by Gurland & Wilder (1984). Data was analyzed using the SPSS Win program. Results: There were significant differences in economic status, duration of living and type of medical insurance between rural and urban elderly(p<.05). Physio-sensory functions (t=4.53. p<.001), ADL (t=3.61. p<.001), IADL (t=2.45, p=.014), cognitive functions (t=-2.63. p=.024) and psycho-social functions (t=3.69. p<.001) were significantly different between the two groups. The utilization of long-term care facility in the urban elderly was significantly higher than that in the rural elderly ($x^2=10.14$, p<.001). Conclusion: Considering these findings. the need for long-term care should be assessed by residence characteristics. Because of different utilization of long term care facility according to the elderly's needs, long-term care services should be considered the residence characteristics.

• Journal of the Korean housing association
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.59-68
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• 2005

The purpose of this study was to find out the new directions of Korean rural village remodeling policy based on the representatives' needs in 32 rural villages. The villages were selected by accessibility, type of village construction, geographic characteristics of rural area, and administrative district. The interview data were collected from the representatives of each village. By analyzing the qualitative and the quantitative data, the following conclusions were derived: 1) The village remodeling program should be performed with a long schedule plan, flexible budget, and residents' participation. 2) In new villages, the post village management system should be set up in order to conserve the rural environment. 3) Above all, the expert service system based on government support should be done. The experts would guide residents by consulting about village tour, village viewscape of houses and facilities, and the merchandising of the village's specialized resources. 4) The rural village remodeling program should be carried out on the base of the sense of community and the elderly life.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.375-384
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• 2003

The purpose of this study is to identify the amount of social support and quality of life perceived by elderly people in rural areas and to examine the relationship between social support and quality of life in an effort to provide the basic data for effective nursing intervention to enhance quality of life among elderly people. Data were collected from a sample of 220 elderly people aged over 60 from a stratified probability method from one rural area in South Jeolla province from Aug. 15 to Sep. 15, 2002. For data collection, pre-educated researchers visited the participants' homes and surveyed them face-to-face. The statistical analysis was performed using the SAS program along with t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson Correlation. The findings were as follows: 1. The most socially supportive people they answered were Spouses (57.28%), followed by children, friends/neighbors, in descending order. In terms of satisfaction about social support, the subjects felt the most satisfaction from spouses, followed by friends/neighbors, children, in descending order. 2. The participants' perceived social support was 26.0 and the highest score was 108.0 out of 125. Also, the average score and average grade point was 81.7 and 3.35, respectively. A comparison of the average grade points per items within sub-areas of social support revealed financial aid(3.56), informative support(3.34), emotional support (3.27), and evaluation support(3.22). 3. Their perceived social support had statistically significant differences in terms of how much they earned (F=18.56, p= .00001) and whether they had family members living together (F=2.68, p= .0512), quality of life had statistically significant differences in terms of how much they earned (F=35.34, p= 0.00001). 4. The quality of life they perceived was the lowest score 47.0, the highest score 196.0, average score 145.7, and average grade points 3.28. A comparison of the average grade points per items within sub-areas of quality of life revealed neighbor relationships(3.97), self-esteem(3.49), family relationships(3.35), economic conditions 3.12), physical health (2.98), and psychological health(2.74). 5. The relationship between the amount of the subjects' social support and quality of life was significantly correlated (r=.696, p< .001). The findings revealed that social support for elderly people in rural areas was a greatly effective factor on their quality, of life. Also, it was shown that the larger the social support for the elderly, the greater the quality of life for them. Therefore, it is necessary to foster geriatric nurse specialists and develop nursing intervention programs connected with health care and social wellbeing in order to enhance the quality of life of elderly people in rural areas. Also, it is necessary to develop effective models for community and its applications, which will playa leading role for elderly people.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.1810-1819
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• 2013

This study is a nonequivalent-comparison-group-quasiexperimental-study which tries to establish the effect of a laughter therapy program on the blood pressure, depression, and the life quality of elderly women in rural area. The subjects are 49 females aged 65 living in S-myeon, 24 and the other 25 of whom are put into an experimental group and a comparison group, respectively. The laughter therapy was performed to the experimental group for 60 minutes a time, twice a week for 13 weeks, from January 5 to April 5 in 2011. To find out the intervention effect, the program was analyzed by a t-test. The result showed that the therapy lowers the systolic blood pressure, relieves depression, and enhances the life quality of them. Therefore, it is expected that the therapy, a useful program contributing to the health improvement of elderly women, can be made use of nursing intervention in clinical trials or communities.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.6 no.5
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• pp.773-788
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• 2001

The purpose of this study was to investigate the difference in nutrient intake according to the level of self-perception of health status, aging status and life satisfaction of the rural elderly. The factors for the study were surveyed by interview method. The subjects were 270 people(71 male, 129 female) aged over 65 years(73.5 $\pm$ 5.6ys) in the Ham-an area. The obtained results as follows : By evaluation of self-perception of health status, 57.5% of subjects answered they are in a bad health condition. The 91.5% of subjects had diseases(rheumatitis & arthritis 31.4%, cardiovascular disease 20.2%, gastric disease 10.2%). The women had more diseases than the men(p < 0.01). The subjects took medical treatment in private hospital(40.5%) and public health centers(35.0%). The men showed better level of aging status(p < 0.001) and life satisfaction index(p < 0.01) than the worsen. Living with spouse influenced the aging status(p < 0.05) and the more pocket money influenced life satisfaction(p < 0.05) and aging status(p < 0.05). The elderly who eat regularly 3 times a day(p < 0.05) and have a good appetite(p < 0.001) appeared to have positive effect on the self perception of health status and aging status. An increasing level of the self-perception of health status and regular exercise worked to improve aging status(p < 0.001). The habits of smoking and alcohol drinking, however had no effect on any index. The self-perception of health status affected the nutrient intake, but only in female elderly. The aging status and the life satisfaction index related overall positively to the intake of nutrients. In conclusion, the study shows that gender did influence nutrient intake in the elderly. The women who live alone rated lowest in social resources and health condition therefore their nutrient intake was also extremely in deficit. For successful aging, a program for rural elderly is needed, i.e. actions to provide minimum economic life, food delivery and psychological/physical health care through regional public health centers.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Rural Health Nursing
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.63-73
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• 2010

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of a community-based health promotion program for elders. Method: The research design was a nonequivalent control group experimental design. The participants were 415 elders who were above 65 years of age (mean age: 80.7, experimental group: 126, control group: 289). For 4 months, the health promotion project which consisted of health education and activity related to smoking, drinking, nutrition and exercise was given to the experimental group. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, ${\chi}^2$-test, and t-test with the SAS V8e program. Result: After the intervention, the experimental group showed a higher level of health promotion behavior compared to the control group in health education experience, exercise, smoking, and drinking. There were no differences between the experimental and control groups for nutrition, or high risk drinking and smoking. Conclusion: The results of this study show that the health promoting program for elders provides useful information in developing effective community-based programs and can be recommended as effective interventions to improve the health promoting behavior of elders.

• Korean Journal of Rural Living Science
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.25-33
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• 1997

The purpose of this study was to assess the nutrition education program for older adults at rural area. Eighty three adults (mean age ;55.6$\pm$11.9) participated in nutrition education program. Data collection includes serum and urine collections for health state. The impact of nutrition KAP (knowledge attitude and practice) and retention was examined among participants who were assessed at program entry 3 times of education and 1 month of follow-up. The results were as follows : The participants were composed 52 persons of under 60-year-old and 31 persons over 60 years. Of the 83 participants, 60 were females and 23 were males. Serum albumin and calcium content of females (3.5$\pm$1.2g/dl, 7.5$\pm$3.9mg/dl) were significantly lower than males(4.7$\pm$0.9g/dl, 11.2$\pm$4.6mg/dl). Serum TG and cholesterol contents of females (143$\pm$117mg/d1, 205$\pm$31mg/d1) were higher than males (101$\pm$86mg/dl, 192$\pm$19mg/dl) but not significantly different. The calcium (13.4$\pm$9.0mg/dl) and urea (743$\pm$440mg/dl) contents of urine excretion were also significantly lower in female than in males (19.7$\pm$11mg/dl, 1041 $\pm$535mg/dl). Via the question of nutrition attitude, the participants improved significantly between pre and post education (the score of pre, post and after 1 month, 6.7$\pm$1.8, 7.2$\pm$1.5, 7.2$\pm$1.8), and were also attributed to better personal feeling health by modified CMI test but food habit was not significantly improved. As the differences of age and gender groups were compared, under 60-year-old group had better nutrition practice score than over 60 years group.

• Journal of Industrial Convergence
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• v.20 no.8
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• pp.119-126
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• 2022

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a morale promotion program on morale, depression and suicidal thoughts of women elderly in rural area. A non-equivalent control group pre-post test study design was used. The participants were 62 women from O province (experimental group = 28, control group = 34). The experimental group were participated in a total of eight-session, twice a week for four weeks. The collected data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, χ2-test, independent t-test using SPSS 26.0 program. After a eight-week of intervention, there was a significant difference in morale (t=2.09, p=.040) and depression(t=-2.98, p=.004) between two groups except for suicidal thoughts (t=-0.47, p=.638). Therefore, the study morale promotion program has proven to be effective in improving morale, and reducing depression of participants.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.62-75
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• 1998

This study was conducted to reveal nutrient intakes and factors affecting the nutritional status of elderly women in a rural area. The data of dietary intakes were obtained using 24hour recall data which were collected from 244 women subjects older than fifty years old. The data from the questionnaire regarding eating habits were obtained through interview. The education level and economic status of the subjects in this study were very low and education level(p<0.001), occupation(p<0.001), marital status(p<0.001), family size(p<0.05) and smoking habit(p<0.05) were significantly different among different age groups. The nutrient intakes of all age groups were not adequate to RDA level-specially, micronutrient intakes were lower in those in their sixties compared to those in their fifties. Important factors associated with variation in nutrient intakes of subjects were beef preference, regular eating habits, and education level. Therefore it is necessary to focus on subjects with low education levels and low income in order to improve the health and nutritional atatus of the elderly in rural areas. It is necessary to prepare a nutritional education program to establish and maintain good eating habits of the elderly in rural areas.