• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.343-354
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• 2013

Elderly people living in poverty are one of the most vulnerable population groups who are at risk of experiencing social exclusion. Social participation is an important contributing factor to active aging and social integration of the older adults living in poverty. This study aims to identify factors affecting social participation of the poor elderly. Data from the second wave of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing was used for the analyses and 1,346 poor elderly aged over 65 were analyzed. The findings showed that age, education, health status, a level of depression, financial stress, and economic activity were associated with the social participation of the elderly living in poverty. These results indicated that psychological empowerment and specific needs of the older adults living in poverty should be considered in developing services and programs to promote social participation of the poor elderly.

• 한국노년학
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.221-240
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• 2010

Despite a growing trend in elder mistreatment, research about the problem and its effects on the victims has been sparse. Notably missing are the perspectives of older adults themselves, whose perceptions and responses to elder mistreatment are greatly affected by social and cultural context. The purpose of this study is to examine factors associated with older persons' perceptions of elder mistreatment and subsequent help-seeking behaviors. Six hypothetical scenarios featuring elders were the basis of interviews with 124 older persons, drawn by a quota sampling strategy. Findings indicated that older persons perceived situations of physical abuse (87.9%), financial abuse (86.3%), and psychological abuse (66.1%) to be elder mistreatment, yet respondents showed less sensitivity to elder mistreatment that took the form of physical mistreatment within a couple (47.6%), neglect (40.3%), and self-neglect (16.9%). Certain scenarios yielded less intention to seek help: namely, physical mistreatment within a couple, neglect, and self-neglect. Older persons' personal characteristics, social factors, and cultural factors exerted significant influence on both perception and help-seeking behavior. Perception was identified as a key factor that significantly influenced help-seeking behavior. Findings point to awareness of cultural and social context for success in elder mistreatment prevention, intervention, and policy design for this population.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.62 no.3
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• pp.83-108
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• 2010

This study aims to estimate the trajectory of outpatient medical service use and examine what factors are associated with the trajectory among older adults 60 and over with specific focuses on age variations. Using the first three waves of the Korean Welfare Panel Study data, the trajectory and predictors were examined through the Latent Growth Curve Modeling and age variations were examined through the Multi-group Comparison Analyses. The research model was developed based on the Anderson Model. The results showed that study participants tend to increase outpatient medical service use with years. Individuals 75 or younger presented a much faster increasing rate of medical service use than those 75 and over. Similar to the findings of the previous studies, most predisposing factors, resource factors, and needs factors were found to be associated with the trajectory of outpatient medical service use. Needs factors were more closely associated with the medical service use trajectory than resource factors. With regard to age variations in predictors, few significant age variations were found. Based on the finding of the study, implications and future research directions were discussed.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.68 no.1
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• pp.53-71
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• 2016

This study, we analyzed the following in order to verify the effects of depression on suicidal ideation. First, correlations among depression, family solidarity and suicide variables were analysed. Second, the hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to examine the effects of suicidal ideation. Third, family solidarity Sobel-test was performed to investigate whether family solidarity mediates the link between depression and suicidal ideation. The data used in the study comes from the survey conducted by Hallym Aging Research Institute in 2014. Through stratified multi-stage random sampling, 2,034 individuals aged 65 and over and living in Chun-cheon city were analysed. The result with depression and family solidarity together shows the higher the level of depression is, the more suicide ideation is. which means depression has a direct impact on suicide ideation. In addition, it indicates the higher family solidarity is, the less suicide ideation is. Sobel-test which examines indirect effects of depression on suicidal ideation through family solidarity produces a statistically meaningful result. The result is family solidarity mediates the link between depression and suicidal ideation.

• 한국노년학
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.599-616
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• 2020

The South Korean government has introduced a new Customized Care Service for Older Adults by eliminating the six existing care services for them since 2020. It is a significant change of care service system for older adults and the service would play a key role in providing preventive services for them. The aim of the study is to examine the meaning and tasks of the introduction of the Customized Care Services for Older Adults in South Korea by using the framework of Gilbert and Terrell. The study found that the new service was designed under the government's policy contexts of the establishments of public-based social service providers and the emphasis of community care, and it has brought about a number of significant institutional changes of care system in terms of allocation, benefits, delivery, and finance. The institutional coverage of the service was increased to lower 70% of older adults and a large number of kinds of health and social care services would be provided for them. The sphere of living was set in each local area and the new service providers are entirely in charge of providing the services in each sphere. The financing system was changed to support service providers by providing government subsidies. Although a number of positive results would be expected to occur for the elderly, it is likely that some challenging tasks would happen in the fields as follows: the inadequate coverage, the vagueness of the application of self-care principle and the decrease in the amounts of direct care services, the inappropriate area of service provision, and the supplier-oriented provision of services rather than user-oriented.

• 한국노년학
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.685-703
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• 2018

The purpose of this study was to critically review articles published in the Journal of the Korean Gerontological Society(2008-2017). The 70 articles on the field of educational gerontology were collected from the journal. Research subjects, types of research, data collection methods, data analysis methods, and topics of research were analyzed. For recent ten years, the proportion of articles about educational gerontology took only 10.7%. Normal older adults(52.9%) for research subjects, experimental research(41.4%) for types of research, using questionnaires(42.9%) for data collection methods, analyzing differences between experimental and control group(22.9%) for data analysis methods, and education for older adults(72.9%) for topics of research were showed the highest proportion. Future research on educational gerontology needs to investigate informal educational experiences, consider diversity of older adults, and have more critical opinions on educational gerontology.

• Journal of Integrative Natural Science
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.121-127
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• 2020

To investigate the effects of wearable near-infrared ray-emitting knee pads on knee pain among elderly adults in Korea. Randomized controlled trial evaluating the effects of near-infrared rays (NIR) on knee pain in Korean elderly adults. Five community-based research facilities (two welfare centers, a senior citizen center, and two churches). Forty-seven participants aged 65 years and older who had experienced knee pain. The experimental group (n = 25) wore NIR-emitting knee pads for one month at nighttime while sleeping. The control group (n = 22) wore knee pads without NIR. Demographic characteristics, intensity and duration of knee pain, amount of analgesic medication used, range of motion, gait speed, and health-related quality of life were collected using questionnaires. The experimental group showed decreased intensity (t = -6.17, p < 0.001) and duration (t = -3.34, p = 0.002) of knee pain and reduced analgesic use (t = -2.30, p = 0.026) compared to the control group. NIR may be an effective non-pharmacological option for relieving knee pain in elderly adults.

• PNF and Movement
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.383-392
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• 2020

Purpose: Balance and gait dysfunction caused by aging affect elderly individuals' independent life, which, in turn, can reduce their overall quality of life. The purpose of this study is to compare the differences in the vestibular function of healthy elderly and young adults based on the subjective visual vertical (SVV) test as well as to compare and analyze the gait ability between these two groups to study the differences and association between vestibular, dizziness, and balance ability. Methods: The subjects were 18 young and 16 elderly adults with no neurological or musculoskeletal damage. To evaluate vestibular function, a subjective visual vertical test was performed. To evaluate the gait function, the step time, step length, stride length, stance phase ratio, and swing phase ratio were measured. Balance was evaluated using the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), and dizziness was evaluated using a dizziness handicap inventory (DHI). Results: There were significant differences in the SVV, BBS, and DHI between the young and elderly adults (p < 0.05). The gait variables of the older adults were all significantly different (except for the swing phase ratio) than those of the young adults (p < 0.05). As the result of correlation analysis, the SVV values of the young adults showed a significant negative correlation with step length and stride length (p < 0.05), while the SVV values of the elderly adults only showed a significant positive correlation with the DHI (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The elderly appeared to show a decrease in vestibular function when compared to the young adults, and it is thought that walking and balance function declined, while dizziness increased. Moreover, it is believed that these results can be used as basic data for vestibular rehabilitation in the future.

• Journal of Korean Academic Society of Home Health Care Nursing
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.53-63
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• 2020

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the effects of the ICPP on cognitive function, level of depression, and quality of life of older adults. Methods: This study follows a pretest-posttest, non-equivalent control group, quasi-experimental design. The subjects of this study were elderly people aged 65 years or older registered at comprehensive social welfare centers. A total of 42 participants took part: 21 in the control group and 21 in the experimental group. Data collection was conducted between September 18, 2017 and November 2, 2017. The ICPP was conducted for the experimental group for 6 weeks as a group program (3-4 times a week, for a total of 20 sessions). The control group underwent a simple exercise program for 6 weeks (once a week, for a total of 6 sessions). Results: The experimental group showed significant improvement in their cognitive function, level of depression, and quality of life. Conclusion: These results suggest that the ICPP helps improve cognitive function, alleviates depression, and increases quality of life, and is expected to be an effective nursing intervention for older adults.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.64 no.1
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• pp.101-124
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• 2012

This study examined the longitudinal changes of self-perceptions of own aging among middle-aged and elderly adults, using the latent growth modeling with the three waves of the "Aging and the Quality of Life of the Elderly in Korea", which sampled adults aged over 45 living in Seoul and Chuncheon. The dependent variable is attitudes toward own aging, the sub-scale of the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale developed by Lawton (1975). The results showed that the research participants' attitudes of their own aging deteriorated over time. In addition, the lower initial status of the research participants' attitudes of their own aging was associated with being older, being non-married, living in rural areas, attaining the lower level of education, having the fewer social activities, reporting the worse subjective economic status, and reporting the worse subjective health status. The slope of the research participants' attitudes of their own aging differed by the residence areas, educational attainments, subjective economic status and subjective health status. In particular, the difference of the initial status by educational attainments grew over time. Social welfare policy and practice implications are discussed for middle-aged and elderly adults to improve attitudes toward their own aging.