• The Korean Journal of Rehabilitation Nursing
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.46-56
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• 2015

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify health status and the use of complementary and alternative therapies in the community dwelling pre-elderly and elderly. Methods: A total of 193 subjects participated in this study. They were recruited from one senior welfare center, four senior citizen centers and subjects' home in two cities. Data were collected with self-reported questionnaires to measure health status and the use of complementary and alternative therapies. Data were analyzed by t-test, ANOVA using SPSS/WIN 22.0. Results: Health status in this subjects was different depending on their age, sex, education, religion, type of family, and average monthly living expenses. Most used items as complementary and alternative medicine are diet therapy, herbal medicine such as health supplement food therapy, vitamin therapy, and Korean folk remedies. There were statistically significant differences in using complementary and alternative therapies according to one's current health status (F=7.09, p<.001), comparing health status to peers (F=3.67, p=.013), and chronic disease having more than three months (t=-2.50, p=.013). Conclusion: This study suggest that individualized health care should be continued for the pre-elderly and elderly. Moreover, we need to prepare long term care plans such as educations for applying complementary and alternative therapies.

• The Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.330-340
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• 2013

Purpose: This study was performed to identify the level of Korean elderly's knowledge regarding concepts of end-of-life (EOL), Life-sustaining-treatment (LST), and advance directives (AD) which are critical aspects for establishing AD in Korean society. Methods: A questionnaire survey was done between October 2011 and February 2012. Knowledge of AD was evaluated with 3 aspects including EOL, LST, and AD utilizing a questionnaire that was developed by authors for the study. Data were collected from 268 community dwelling elderly from three cities and analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, one-way analysis of variance, and a Scheffe post hoc test with SAS Ver. 9.1 program. Results: Overall, Korean elderly were poorly acquainted with AD related concepts. Significant differences in awareness of AD including understanding of EOL, the level of comprehension of LST, and knowledge about AD were revealed by gender, education level, economic state, and acquaintance with terms of AD or LST. Conclusion: To acknowledge autonomy and support quality of life for elderly and to meet the purpose of AD, attention should be given to target populations including elderly in terms of knowledge level related to AD, social marketing, and infra structure relevant to practice AD in our society.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.147-158
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• 2016

Objectives : The aim of this study was to investigate predictors of cognitive function decline among community dwelling elderly. Methods : Data were analyzed from the Survey of Living Condition of Elderly panel study. Cognitive function was measured with the MMSE-KC at baseline and year 3. The study subjects were 5,464 community dwelling people aged 65 years or older who had no disability at baseline. Logistic regression analysis was used to predict cognitive function decline. Results : From 2008-2011, 4,417(80.8%) elderly people had no cognitive decline, and 1,074(19.2%) showed cognitive function decline measured by the MMSE-KC. After adjusting for demographics and baseline MMSE-KC score, the best predictors for cognitive function decline at 36 months were diabetes mellitus, smoking, low intensity physical activity, relationship with relatives and friends. Conclusions : Health promotion programs that are focused on the elderly are essential in preventing cognitive function decline. Promoting regular physical activity, and social relationships should be included in health promotion for elderly. When treating patients with diabetes, preventing cognitive impairment should be considered through education and counseling.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.1-18
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• 2008

Objectives: The objective of this study is to identify the gender differences of risk factors for falls among the elderly in community dwellings. Methods: We analyzed the data on 3,278(male 1,255, female 2,023) persons, including 497 persons who have experienced falls, drawn from the 2004 National Elderly Survey. We conducted a cross-tabulation analysis, $X^2$-test and hierarchical regression analysis of the impact of the socio-economical characteristics, environmental characteristics, the number of chronic diseases, usage of supplementary devices, activities of daily living, dementia, and the severity of problem behavior. Results: For the entire sample of the elderly, gender, age, the size of the cities of residence, the number of chronic diseases, and the severity of problem behavior were identified as risk factors for falls. The number of chronic diseases and the severity of problem behavior were found to be significant for the male subsample, while age, the size of cities of residence, dwelling types, and the number of chronic diseases were found to be significant for the female subsample. Conclusion: The number of chronic diseases was identified as a common risk factor for falls in the male and female elderly. Chronic diseases were also found to aggravate the risk for falls when they concur with other diseases.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.139-147
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• 2010

Purpose: This study was to find out knowledge, fear, and efficacy of fall in the community dwelling elderly and to investigate how the factors were connected to one another. Methods: Data were collected from June to August, 2009 from 101 aged people who aged 65 or older and agreed to participate in this study sampled among elders at 8 halls of the aged in local communities. The subjects were interviewed by a co-researcher and 3 trained assistants in a way of responding to the questionnaire after being read. The data were analyzed through t-test, ANOVA, Turkey's test and Pearson correlation coefficients. Results: Knowledge of fall was affected significantly by whether the living cost was provided or not, fear of fall was affected by sex, level of education, hearing impairment and regular exercise, and efficacy of fall was affected by age, sex, marital status, level of education, hearing impairment, vertigo and regular exercise. The results also showed a negative correlation between fear of fall and efficacy of fall. Conclusion: According to this study, regular exercise can build up knowledge and efficacy of fall and diminish fear of fall. Thus it is highly recommended to include regular exercise in an effective fall-prevention program.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.12-22
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• 2009

Purpose: This study was done to investigate factors associated with depression and quality of life (QoL) among the community-dwelling elderly. Methods: This study used a descriptive correlational research design. The subjects were 730 elders aged over 65 living in D district of Daegu. Data were collected using questionnaires for 30 days in April, 2007. The research instruments utilized in this study were a physical function scale of long-term care insurance system, Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form Korea Version (GDSSF-K), and Korean Quality of Life Scale (KoQoLs). The collected data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Duncan, stepwise multiple regression, and Spearman correlation. Results: The mean age of the subjects was 72.6, and 68.8% and 57.9% of subjects were, respectively, female and living alone. 12.3% of variance in depression was explained by age, education, economic status, subjective health, alcohol consumption, condition of teeth, and fall experience. 18.2% of variance in QoL was explained by economic status, number of diseases, condition of teeth, incontinence, paralysis, and IADL. Economic status and condition of teeth were contributing factors to depression and QoL of the elderly. Conclusion: Findings of this study may be useful in understanding the health status of the community-dwelling elderly and developing more regionally specific health promotion strategies.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.141-149
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• 2019

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify risk factors of accidental falls by age in the Korean elderly. Methods: The study subjects included 10,242 community-dwelling elders aged 65 or over. The data were analyzed by logistic regression analysis. Results: The risk factors of accidental falls in the younger old group (aged 65~74) include fear of falling (OR=16.28, 95% CI: 12.03~22.03), depression (OR=1.24, 95% CI: 1.06~1.44), and hearing impairment (OR=1.20, 95% CI: 1.01~1.43). The risk factors of accidental falls in the older old group (aged 75~84) include fear of falling (OR=11.54, 95% CI: 7.04~18.93), muscle strength (OR=1.36, 95% CI: 1.15~1.60), number of chronic disease (OR=1.65, 95% CI: 1.09~2.50), and presence of spouse (OR=1.27, 95% CI: 1.06~1.51). The risk factors of accidental falls in the oldest old group (aged 85 years old or older) include fear of falling (OR=8.05, 95% CI: 1.85~34.98) and exercise (OR=2.91, 95% CI: 1.36~6.24). Fear of falling is defined as a common factor in the all age groups. Conclusion: Different strategies should be developed for age groups to prevent elderly falls with understanding of contributing factors of falls in each group.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.749-758
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• 2001

The purpose of the study was to analyze the functional status of low income elderly living at home according to their socio-economic factors, sensory function, health status, medical service utilization, commodity and types of chronic disease. Method: Functional status was defined by the level of mobility, ADL and IADL categorized as independently functional, mildly impaired, moderately disabled, and severely disabled. The data was collected by home-visit interviews with 567 community dwelling adults who were 65 years of age or more with low a income status subsidized by government in ChonAn. Results: 9.9% of community dwelling older adults were severely disabled, and 44.4% were moderately disabled in their functional status. There were significant differences in the functional status by age, education, religion, and types of family structure. The older adults with hearing impairment or dental problems had a significantly higher rate of severe disability. Self-rated health status and medical service utilization were also significant factors to the differences in functional status. The functional status of older adults was also significantly related to the presence of chronic health problems such as chronic back pain, stroke, and Alzheimer-dementia. Conclusion: The results confirmed that community dwelling older adults with low income status were more functionally disabled in comparison to general older adults at national level, while the relating factors to their functional status seemed similar to other studies on older adults. Further studies were suggested to look into functional status longitudinally and focus on the changes of functional status by managing modifiable influencing factors.

• The Journal of Korean society of community based occupational therapy
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.25-35
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• 2012

Objective : This study conducted in rural areas, elderly services voucher business and leisure satisfaction survey based on data from the use of community-dwelling older people considering service needs was to find ways to take advantage of leisure time. Methods : Buyeo county residents in this study 71 patients were elderly, the characteristics of elderly gender, the presence of spouse, health status, education level, monthly living expenses, number of children, occupation, and the variables were included. Subjects' self-esteem, life satisfaction, quality of life, program satisfaction questionnaire for the survey were used, t-test and correlation analysis using the correlation between each factor were analyzed. Results : In a survey of participants in leisure activities, TV watching, meeting friends, such as phone calls to static and time-consuming activities were surveyed about satisfaction of the voucher business, the elderly oral health care services, health screening services, sports massage such as health-related services is relatively high degree of satisfaction. Conclusion : The results of this study of elderly people in rural communities through meaningful leisure time were utilized to determine what is lacking, a strong desire for health-related services that could be confirmed. Therefore, further experience and knowledge about activities by providing opportunities for meaningful leisure time needs to improve, and it based on a variety of programs to meet the needs of the elderly should be provided.

• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.19-35
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• 2021

Objective : This study aimed to systematically examine studies on the life-space mobility in community-dwelling elderly and analyze and summarize the research trends. Methods : The Embase and PubMed databases were searched for articles on the life-space mobility of community-dwelling elderly published between January 2010 and January 2020. Based on the selection and exclusion criteria of the 335 articles, a total of 27 articles were finally selected and analyzed. Results : As a results, 11 (40.7%) cohort studies had evidence level II. This study showed that the participants in the studies were healthy elderly (81.5%), and the University of Alabama Life-Space Assessment (UAB-LSA) used the most participants (88.9%). Of the foci of the 27 finally selected studies, 8 (29.6%) were physical, 8 (29.6%) were psychosocial, 6 (22.2%) were cognitive, and 2 (7.4%) were social, and 3 (11.1%) were others. The life-space mobility of the elderly needs to be analyzed from a multidimensional point of view, and not based on a single factor such as the physical, cognitive, psychosocial, or social. Conclusion : The results of this study are expected to verify causality through the study of life-space mobility for the elderly staying in various communities and provide future directions for the study on the mobility of the elderly's and the development of community-based intervention programs.