• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
• /
• v.17 no.3
• /
• pp.23-36
• /
• 2012

Objectives : The coverage of Korean National Health Insurance is limited to basic level. Korean government encourages private health insurance for covering medical securities. So, many studies examined the determinants of purchasing private health insurance. However, 11% of Korean population is older than 65 in 2011. Considering the elderly is important to establish a health policy. The aim of this study is to examine factors determining the purchase of private health insurance among middle-aged and elderly Korean adults. Methods : We used the second Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing (KLoSA), selected 8,688 sample of the aged 47 or older for the analysis. KLoSA collected information on demographic characteristics, income, health- related factors. KLoSA data include in the number of outpatient, inpatient, oriental hospital visit, dental clinic visit for two years. Logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between the determinants of purchasing private health insurance and the factors which include age, gender, education, residential district, marital status, smoking, drinking, physical exercise, economic activity status, national health insurance type, income, the number of chronic disease, and the number of outpatient, inpatient, oriental hospital visit, dental clinic visit for two years. Results : People who were older, did not live in a city, had higher IADL, currently drunk alcohol, did exercise regularly and had chronic diseases more than three were inclined not to purchase private health insurance. Females, the married, well-educated, past & currently smokers, the employed, high income earners, national health insurers, metropolitan citizens and someone who got high MMSE were more likely to purchase private health insurance. The more people experienced outpatients, inpatients, dental clinics and Chinese medicine clinics, the more private health insurance was purchased. The elderly people over 75 had more private health insurance than the aged 65-74. The strongest factors for private health insurance is gender, and economic status such as income. Conclusion : In this study, we found healthy-high income people were more likely to purchase private health insurance. In contrast, unhealthy-low income and older people did not. The economic factors were strongly related with private health insurance in aged over 75. These mean inequality exists in the using private health insurance. Therefore, the government should consider vulnerable social group before expanding private health insurance.

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
• /
• v.23 no.4
• /
• pp.93-104
• /
• 2017

Purpose: Korean society has already entered an aged society but there aren't many evidence-based studies on the elderly-friendly design elements in the apartment environment, which is the main residential type in Korea. The main purpose of this study is to verify the necessity and expandability of the outdoor environment design in the public rental apartment complex through the evaluation of the effectiveness and satisfaction of SMG(Seoul Metropolitan Government) Cognitive Health Design Project in GR 1 apartment complex. Methods: The research subjects were GR 1-complex as experimental group and the nearby Wolgye Deer 1-complex as control group, both public rental apartment and located in Seoul. As a research method, the survey was conducted before and after the implementation of SMG project for residents of the apartment. A total of 200 preliminary surveys and 203 post surveys were conducted. Results: As a result of this study, residents' accidents related safety have decreased, and both the frequency of use and satisfaction of most facilities have increased. It is noteworthy that the increase in cognitive items in the post-survey. Also, 74.5% of the residents evaluated that the complex was better to live after the project was implement. Implications: The fact that the preliminary surveys were not conducted for the same person is considered as the limitation of the study, but it is meaningful in that it systematically assesses the effectiveness of the project on the cognitive health of the outdoor residential environment towards age-friendly city.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
• /
• v.20 no.2
• /
• pp.43-48
• /
• 2008

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the importance of grade decision and role of physical therapist which follows enforcement of elderly long-term residential care insurance system. Methods: One of the data from grade decision meeting in Bukgu, Busan on 2007 which was 88 case of attached finding of doctor was compared with findings of visited investigator. Result: Eighty-four investigation subjects had 186 diseases that included stroke and arthritis, requiring the need for physical therapeutic approaches. In addition, the results of the door-to-door research project in the northern district of Busan showed that there was no match out of 88 subjects who submitted the viewpoint of the doctor. Such a result was produced as the doctors did not diagnose the patient directly, but rather the diagnoses were obtained from guardians and a door-to-door researcher who had a poor understanding of geriatric motion and function. Conclusion: To enforce long-term care successfully, a re-investigation should be performed for the welfare of the aged.

• 한국노년학
• /
• v.38 no.2
• /
• pp.271-290
• /
• 2018

The study aims to analyze the effects of socio-economic deprivation on suicidal ideation. The analysis data were used as a guide for Korea Welfare Panel Study 9. the frequency analysis, mean difference analysis, correlation analysis, and logistic regression were performed by SPSS programs. The results of analysis are as follows. First, The results of frequency analysis by deprivation type showed a high frequency of deprivation in the following order. Experience of not receiving a public pension, experience of being able to work but unemployed, experience of not being able to eat a balanced diet due to financial difficulties, and experience where you had nothing to eat but no more money to buy. Second, the average difference analysis shows that when a person does not have a spouse, the lower the academic background and the income level, the higher the likelihood of suicide. Third, regression analysis shows that the following deprivation patterns have a statistically significant effect on older adults' thoughts of suicide. Experience in which the respondents or their family could not go to hospital because they had no money, experience that move house because is back rent more than 2 months or can not pay rent, experience that they could not afford to buy food and eat well-balanced meals, experience of failing to pay your bills on time, experience of being able to work but not having a job, and experience in which financial difficulties left them short of food and no money to live. Based on such research results, some policy measures, such as the expanding management of medical care benefits cases, the improvement of elderly housing, residential conditions and the diet survey for the elderly, and the expansion of measures to support elderly people's tax rates, were proposed.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
• /
• v.18 no.10
• /
• pp.279-288
• /
• 2018

Unlike the past, the elderly who are growing rapidly in Korea are called 'active seniors'. They prefer to live in urban silver towns despite high living cost and make their own new urban contents. The new urban contents that reflect the living characteristics of active seniors have an important impact on their choice of residential location. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify the location characteristics of urban silver towns, which are preferred as the main residence of active seniors, based on the urban living contents of active seniors. The location characteristics of urban silver towns considering the urban living contents of active seniors can be classified 1) public transportation, 2) nearby arterial roads, 3) culture shopping facilities, 4) medical facilities, 5) apartment complexes, and 6) natural environments. Especially, the accessibilities of medical facilities, apartment complexes, and culture shopping facilities were the main characteristics of urban silver towns. The results of this study are expected to be helpful not only the location of urban silver towns, which is the urban new content of active senior, but also for the policy on housing for the elderly.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.29 no.4
• /
• pp.469-481
• /
• 2019

Background: As South Korea is becoming an aged society very rapidly, the increase in osteoarthritis prevalence raises various public health issues in this country. This study aimed to explore the socio-demographic factors associated with osteoarthritis in the current Korean elderlies. Methods: Using the National Survey of Korean Elderly data (2014, 2017), we analyzed 20,326 elderlies (males, 8,248; females, 12,078) and conducted multivariate logistic regression analyses by sex. The dependent variable is whether a participant was diagnosed with osteoarthritis or not. Independent variables of interest is socio-demographic factors such as age, marital status, household type, residential area, household income, religion, the longest job, the number of close relatives, the number of close friends, and survey year. Control variables are various health behavioral factors and disease-related factors. Results: Prevalence of osteoarthritis was 19.2% in male elderlies and 47.0% in female elderlies. According to the results of the multivariate logistic regression adjusted for all studied control variables, the odds ratio (OR) for having osteoarthritis of under-elementary school graduates (their counterpart was college graduate group) was 1.81 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.29-2.52) in males and 1.67 (95% CI, 1.12-2.47) in females. The OR of those having a job in agriculture & forestry fishery as their longest job (their counterpart was those who had never participated in labor force during their lifetime) was 5.07 (95% CI, 1.46-17.58) in males and 1.49 (95% CI, 1.27-1.74) in females. In males, the second-low quartile group in household yearly income (their counterpart was the highest quartile group) had the OR of 1.22 (95% CI, 0.98-1.53). In females, the OR of those having a religion of Buddhism (their counterpart was those having no religion) was 1.20 (95% CI, 1.07-1.35) and the OR of those who had no relatives (their counterpart was those having more than 3 close relatives) was 1.31 (95% CI, 1.10-1.56). Conclusion: This study found that in Korean elderlies, education, the longest job, household income, religion, and the number of close relatives are associated with their suffering from osteoarthritis. Further study and designing appropriate interventions are needed to alleviate current and future individual and socioeconomic burdens of osteoarthritis in an aged society like South Korea.

• 한국노년학
• /
• v.29 no.4
• /
• pp.1361-1381
• /
• 2009

There have lately been a variety of social issues in our society due to rapid social changes. Specifically, how to approach elderly people who suffer from dementia is never an easy task, and few in-depth studies have ever focused on their quality of life due to that. The purpose of this study was to examine the quality of life of elderly people with dementia and the relationship between their quality of life and the environments of facilities for them in an attempt to lay the foundation for the development of compatible programs tailored to the environments of the facilities and for relevant policy setting. It's ultimately meant to improve the quality of life of the elderly with dementia and the environments of facilities for them. The subjects in this study were elderly people with dementia who were housed in senior residential and medical welfare facilities in Daegu and Gyeongsangbukdo. The collected data were analyzed with a SPSS 12.0 program, and frequency analysis, cross-tabs and multiple logistic regression analysis were utilized. As a result, facility environments were identified as one of the variables that had a significant impact on the quality of life of the elderly people with dementia. There are some suggestions about how to boost their quality of life: First, good environments should be prepared in consideration of the characteristics of elderly people with dementia in order for themto be satisfied with their own quality of life, and the way of looking at their potentials should be changed. Second, it's found that main caregivers affected the quality of life of the elderly people with dementia, and the kind of programs that focus on the improvement of the relationship between elderly people with dementia and their main caregivers is required. Third, there should be a change in the environments of the facilities. The facilities should be well equipped to successfully respond to the symptoms of elderly people with dementia. To redress their poor accessibility to the facilities, infrastructure involving nursing homes and professional personnels should be built by utilizing the Internet, and the facilities and local community should make concerted efforts to provide quality care to elderly people in want of it.

• Korea journal of population studies
• /
• v.22 no.1
• /
• pp.123-151
• /
• 1999

미국사회에서 노인의 거주지 적응양식은 인종간에 차이가 크다. 일반적으로 소수인종노인은 백인 노인에 비하여 자녀와 함께 사는 경향이 강하다. 이에 대하여 문화적 입장에서는 소수인종은 백인에 비하여 가족부양규범이 강하다고 주장한다. 다른 한편 경제적 입장에서는 소수인종은 그들의 생애를 지배하는 빈곤 때문에 규모의 경제를 통하여 가계비용을 줄이기 위하여 확대가족을 유지할 수밖에 없다고 주장한다. 본 연구는 노인이 질병과 빈곤에 적응하는 방식에 있어 인종간 차이를 검토함으로써 기존의 경제학적 논의와 문화적 논의의 적합성을 검정하는데 목적을 두고 있다. 이를 위하여 노인의 거주지 적응에 대한 문화적 영향과 관련하여 두가지 가설을 검정하고 있다. 첫째, 소수인종 노인은 백인노인에 비하여 빈곤과 질병상황에서 가족으로부터 더 오랜기간 보호를 받는지를 검토한다. 둘째, 소수인종 노인은 백인노인에 비하여 건강이 악화될 때 더욱 신속하게 가족으로부터 보호를 받을 수 있는지를 검토한다. 분석을 위해서 1984년에서 1990년기간 동안 실시된 "고령화에 대한 종단적 조사(Longitudinal Survey on Aging)"를 이용하여 마르코비안 다중생명표 모형과 사건분석을 수행하였다. 본 연구결과에 따르면 소수인종 노인은 가족부양규범의 문화적 이점을 그다지 크게 다지고 있지 않다. 인종간 사망력과 시설입소의 차이를 통제할 때, 소수인종 노인은 백인노인에 비하여 보다 흔하게 자녀동거에서 단독거주형태로 혹은 그 반대방향으로 거주지 변화를 경험하고 있다. 백인 노인은 소수인종에 비하여 질병상태와 관련하여 자녀와 동거하는 경향이 더 강하다. 사망력과 시설입소의 인종간 차이를 통제할 때 소수인종노인이 백인노인보다 쉽게 자녀동거에서 단독거주로 이행하는데 이는 소수인종에서 가족부양체계가 불안정함을 의미한다. 또한 빈곤시에 소수인종 노인은 백인노인에 비하여 쉽게 자녀와 떨어져 살게 된다. 이러한 결과는 소수인종 노인에 대한 가족의 지원은 그 가족의 경제적 제약속에서 매우 안정적이지 못함을 시사한다. 못함을 시사한다.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
• /
• v.15 no.4
• /
• pp.469-476
• /
• 2017

Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and naming tests have been used clinically as screening and diagnostic tools for mild cognitive impairment and dementia. Researches in other countries have reported that residential areas would affect one's cognitive abilities. In Korean, however, there was no systematic studies on geographical influences to cognitive ability among a sample of urban/rural residents. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of urban/rural locality of residence on cognitive tests in normal elderly Korean. Residents aged 65 years and older (N=108) were administered the K-MMSE, confrontation/generative naming tests, and medical/socio-demographic interview. When comparing the total number of correct responses between urban residents and rural residents, the performances of rural group were significantly worse than those of the urban group in K-MMSE. Based on the results, our finding suggests that a factor of residential locality should be considered to examine the function and explain the cognitive decline in rural community-dwelling elders.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.97-119
• /
• 1991

Korea has made a rapid economic development since the last three decades. This has helped Korea narrow the gap in health service differences in resource availability and in quality of care. However urban and rural differentials are still remarkable. This study has maintained that health status of rural residents is inferior to that of urban dwellers. Therefore, this study was carried out to develop policy measures for improving health services in rural areas. In order to achieve the objective of this study the authors collaborated closely and made field visits, interviews and conducted an extensive literature review regarding rural health services. The following policy options are recommended as a summary ; First, the quality of rural health personnel is a single most important factor influencing the level of rural health services. An innovative program for public health doctors to the internship and/or residency training program such as specialty board program of family medicine. Second, dissatisfaction regarding employment of public health doctors is problematic. More rational employment and deployment programs are needed to meet their personal desire. One way to do this is to make it wide open and competitive. Third this study shows how to increase physician productivity in the rural public health sector. Incentive system needs to be elaborated for the career development of rural health workers. University linked job opportunity as clinical professor is an example. Fourth, without straightening the function of health centers and subcenters, the future of rural health services is doomed to failure. Straightening primary health care is one way to enrich the program of public health facilities and reactivating the operation of health center/hospital is another. A close linkage of public facilities with private hospitals is a minimum requirement for the operation of health delivery system within a health district. Fifth, some measures are urgently required to enhance hospital services in medically underserved areas. Financial subsidy, tax exemption, long-term public loans and higher priority of health manpower deployment are some of them. Sixth, new health programs should be in tiated to meet changing needs of peoples in rural areas. Home health care program, hospice program, nursing home, residential program for the elderly are recommended.