• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.39 no.11
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• pp.129-144
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• 2001

In spite of rapid sociocultural changes and an increase in the number of nuclear families in recent years, quite many families in Korea still have taken the extended family form where daughter-in-law provides care for the elderly parents. Even though the nature of the inter-generational relationship in Korea is reciprocal in many regards, most of the studies looked at the burden or costs of coresidence with the elderly parents while relatively little attention has been given to the positive side of the coresidence. This study is an attempt to fill this gap in the area. The purpose of this study is to examine not only the costs but also benefits of the coresidence with the elderly parents. We also explore whether there is a rural-urban differences in costs and benefits of coresidence and related factors. For the purpose, data were gathered from 876 daughters-in-law of three generational family both in rural and urban area, using structured questionnaire. The statistical methods used for data analysis were descriptive statistics, cross tables, and regression analysis with SPSS/PC+ program. The major findings of this study were as follows: Marital and economic status of the elderly parents, age, job status and filial responsibility attitude of caregiver, sibling support, and coresidence duration were the significant variables predicting the level of perceived benefits. Marital status of elderly parents, income, job status, educational level, and filial responsibility altitude of caregiver, residence region affected the level of perceived costs. Rural-urban differences are found in many aspects of coresidence experiences and related factors. Rural caregivers receive higher level of the sibling support, have more traditional final responsibility altitude and perceived less costs and more benefit than urban caregivers. There also are differences in the factors influencing the level of perceived costs and benefits between rural and urban area. Level of sibling support and final responsibility attitude have significant impact on both the perceived costs and benefits. But there are differences in terms of that perceived costs and benefits of urban caregivers are affected by job status of caregivers while those of rural caregivers are affected by educational level of caregivers and marital status of elderly. The results confirm that Korean caregivers experience both positive and negative aspects of coresidence and shows that the nature of the inter-generational relationships differ between rural and urban Korea.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Community Living Science Conference
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• 2005.06a
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• pp.94-102
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• 2005

• Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.257-268
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• 2006

Purpose: This study was done to develop and evaluate the Integrated Stress Management Program (ISMP) for elders in rural communities. Method: ISMP consists of 6 educational programs to improve self-management behavior and therapeutic recreational activities and was developed by analyzing the published reports and through multidisciplinary cooperation. Effectiveness of the ISMP was evaluated by implementing the program with 53 rural elders living at home, one session a week of, 2 hours per session over, 6 weeks from March 14 to April. 22, 2005. Results: After participating in the program, participants' perceived levels of stress decreased(t=2.940, p<.05), and mood state (t=4.229, p<.001), life satisfaction(t=-4.911, p<.001), and perceived social support (t=-2.891, p<.05) increased significantly. Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrated that the ISMP is an effective program for relieving stress level, and increasing positive mood, life satisfaction, and social support for elders in a rural community.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.495-501
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• 2013

Objective: The purpose of this study was to survey of the subjective health status of the elderly farmer. Background: With increase of aged population, the health of the elderly farmer has become main concerns of the elderly in the rural community. For the effects of the factors related to quality of life, subjective health condition showed the largest influence. Method: The survey was conducted by 326 elderly farmers aged 50 and older in rural areas through structured questionnaires. Survey questionnaire consisted items of general characteristics, health-related life habits, levels of stress(SF-PWI), symptom of musculoskeletal diseases and general level of health(SF-36). For the data analysis, SPSS 19.0K was used, and analysis was conducted by using frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. For the symptom prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and comparison of average level of health, chi-square test and t-test were used. Results: The results of the study are as follows. It was shown that the symptom prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders had a significant difference in gender (p<0.01). Frequency analysis on presence of musculoskeletal symptoms in each part of body showed that leg/knee region was 28.1%, back region was 26.6%, shoulder region was 18.0%, arm/elbow region was 11.9%, hand/wrist region was 8.2% and neck region was 7.2%. According to comparison of average level of health, a social functioning were the highest as score 87.3, followed by mental health(65.6) and role limitation-emotional(65.5). Conclusion: Health promotion program for the elderly and female in the rural are needed. Application: The survey of the subjective health status of the elderly should be used for planning factors to make a health improvement plan in elderly farmer.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.127-137
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• 2014

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in suicidal ideation according to general characteristics, and to identify the associated factors of suicidal ideation in rural elderly. Method: We surveyed 168 elderly people using structured questionnaires from March through April, 2013. Data analy was performed using descriptive statistics, ${\chi}^2$ test, Fisher's Exact test, and multiple regression using the SPSS program. Results: Significantly differences in suicidal ideation score were observed according to drinking state(p=.036), sleep state(p=.013), health state(p=.020), and stress state(p=.049). The associated factors identified in this study significantly explained 13.2% of suicidal ideation. Smoking and sleep state were the most significant factors of suicidal ideation. Conclusion: Based on these results, development of programs for promotion of psychological health in order to reduce suicide rates of the elderly is urgent. In particular when focusing on relations between sleep disturbance and suicide, it is considered that nursing intervention will be required to promote quality of sleep in clinical practices and communities.

• The Korean Journal of Rehabilitation Nursing
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.74-80
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• 2008

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among perceived health status, physical symptom, and depression in the elderly of Rural areas. Method: subjects were 633 elders selected during Feb. to May in 2005. All subject agreed to participate and filled out the survey questionnaire after signing the consent form. scales used in this study are the Perceived Health Status, the Physical Health Questionnaire(PHQ) and the Geriatric Depression Scale(GDS). Data was analyzed by the SPSS/PC 12.0 program. Result: 1) The mean score of perceived health status was 7.78; the mean score of physical symptom was 18.56; the mean score of depression was 8.53, and 64.6% of the subjects belonged to the depression group. 2) Perceived health status had significant relationship with educational level, spouse, and economic status; between physical symptom and educational level, number of chronic disease; between depression and spouse, economic status, number of chronic disease. 3) Depression had negative correlation with perceived health status, but had positive correlation with physical symptom. Conclusion: Considering these findings, it is necessary that depression management programs and care intervention programs considering regional and environmental elements for the elderly in Rural areas.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.82-91
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• 2004

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify health promoting behavior and life satisfaction in rural elderly people. Method: The data were collected from October 1st 2002 to October 31th, 2003. The participants were 142 elderly people living in Hong Cheon, Korea. Data were collected using structured questionnaires and analyzed using the SPSS program. Result: The average score for the health promoting behavior was 2.64 (${\pm}0.34$), with a minimum of 1.48 and maximum of 3.80. The average scores for each subscale were, nutrition, 2.98, interpersonal support, 2.78, health responsibility, 2.67, self-actualization, 2.66, stress management, 2.58, and exercise, 1.93. Signifiant differences in health promoting behavior were found according to the following general characteristics: education level, religion, senior citizens center usage and allowance. The average score for life satisfaction was 2.68 (${\pm}0.42$), with a minimum of 1.38 and a maximum of 3.85. Senior citizens center usage was the only general characteristics that showed a significant difference for life satisfaction. There was a significant positive correlation between health promoting behavior and life satisfaction (r= 0.5783, p=0.001). Self-actualization and stress management had statistically significant casual effects on life satisfaction ($R^2$=0.3961). Conclusion: Effective methods to enhance life satisfaction of rural elderly should emphasize self-actualization and stress management.

• Journal of the Korean housing association
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.21-32
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• 2014

This research intends to discover the housing conditions of the elderly in rural area in South Korea, and identify measures to improve the conditions for an independent and safe life of seniors. This research conducted both survey research and experimental study. The survey interviewed 1,000 elderly people over 65 in farming areas across the country based on random selection from Census 2010 and sampling by regional size and administrative unit (Eup, Myeon, Li) to reflect the regional characteristics more accurately. The data was analyzed using SPSS 18.0 program. The experimental study identified the housing elements that may threaten the life of seniors based on a complete survey on households of elderly people over 65 in a selected typical rural village. As a result, the most inconvenient and threatening factor in the housing facilities appears to be the floor level difference. It was identified that most houses had the risk of falling due to the differences of the floor level between indoor and outdoor, and slippery floor materials. The squat toilets also bring inconvenience not only to the seniors with limited mobility but also to healthy elderly people. In particular, as most bathroom doors opened inward, it may be difficult to escape from or rescue someone in an emergency of falling, fainting or exhaustion.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.795-809
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• 2015

The suicide rate in South Korea has been the highest among the OECD countries for more than 10 years. In addition, the suicide rate among the rural elderly is much higher than that of the elderly in urban areas and that of younger generations. The purpose of this study was to examine the general tendencies of family ties, community consciousness and suicide ideation of the rural elderly in Korea. Also, this study aimed to verify the mediating effect of community consciousness between family ties and suicidal ideation. The data for this study came from 283 elderly people (over 65 years old) living in 11 villages in South Korea. The data was gathered from July to August 2013. Baron and Kenny's (1986) step based regression from the SPSS Win 18.0 program was used to analyze this data. This study also utilized the Sobel-test. The results of this study are as follows. First, the suicidal ideation of the respondents had a lower score than the median score. However, the magnitude of suicidal ideation was still significant. Second, this study found that family ties and community consciousness have both direct and indirect effects on the reduction of suicidal ideation. Lastly, this study examined the mediating effects of community consciousness. The findings of this study are of great significance because they reconfirmed the importance of establishing a social safety net in local communities to replace adult children who have relocated to urban areas.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.36 no.10
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• pp.1052-1060
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• 2003

Poor dietary habits and inadequate nutrient intakes are of concern in the elderly, even it is worse in rural areas. In the present study, we conducted the anthropometric measurement and the dietary intakes including macronutrients, minerals and vitamins to assess the nutrient intakes and nutritional risk in elderly people in rural kyungpook province in South Korea. Subjects (n = 168, mean age, 67.3 yrs) were interviewed using d general questionnaire and 3 days of 24-hours recall for dietary intake. Nutrient intakes were analyzed using CAN-pro soft program and compared to Korean RDA and nutrition reference values (NRV). The anthropometric measurement showed that the weight and the height of the subjects in the rural area were below the average of the same age of Korean elderly people. The energy and protein intakes were 85％ and 90％ of Korean RDA, respectively. The intakes of lipid, cholesterol and dietary fiber were 62％, 40％ and 22％ of NRV for Korean adults. Main sources for protein and lipid intakes came from the vegetable sources and this pattern was more prominent in female elderly people. Ca intake was half of Korean RDA (56％), while P intake was 132％ of Korean RDA. For the antioxidant trace mineral (Fe, Cu, Mn, Zn, and Se) intakes, Fe and Zn intakes were 78％ and > 103％ of Korean RDA. Cu, Mn and Se intakes were > 113％, > 275％, and > 185％ of Korean NRV. Thiamin, niacin and vitamin C intakes were above Korean RDA, but the intakes of vitamin A and riboflavin were 88％ and 63％ of Korean RDA, respectively. On summarizing the results of the present study, the elderly people in rural area consume less lipid, cholesterol, Ca, and dietary fiber. Ca intake is lower, while P intake is higher, and this would be the potential risk for bone health. Also, Na intake was high, which can be the potential risk for the cardiovascular disease prevailance. Vitamin intakes were fairly good status, excepting riboflavin. Antioxidant mineral intakes were much higher than Korean NRV, unexpectedly. The results suggest that the elderly people in rural area have inadequate intakes of protein, lipid, dietary fiber and Ca, which mainly should be supplied from animal products. Recommendations to increase diet variety would be emphasized for this nutritionally poor-conditioned subjects, specially including animal food products and high dietary fiber food.