• Journal of dental hygiene science
• /
• v.19 no.4
• /
• pp.245-253
• /
• 2019

Background: This study aimed to analyze correlations between depression, cognitive function, oral health state, ability to perform activities of daily living, oral dryness symptoms, and oral health-related quality of life, and determine factors influencing the latter. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study based on questionnaires completed by 260 participants with suspected dementia, residing in South Korea. Psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, and dental hygienists visited clinics in the participating regions for examination and questionnaire administration. General characteristics, the geriatric depression scale, ability to perform activities of daily living, cognitive function, oral health state, and oral health-related quality of life were analyzed. Independent t-tests, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis were conducted, identifying factors affecting oral health-related quality of life. Data analysis was performed using SPSS ver. 20.0 (IBM Corp., USA), and the significance was set at p<0.05. Results: Approximately 65.0% of participants were female, 63.5% were in their 70s, and 90.0% had health insurance. About 21.5%, 42.0%, and 36.5% were normal, slightly impaired, and had dementia, respectively. High cognitive impairment was associated with poor oral health. Sex, education levels, marital status, and living arrangements influenced oral health-related quality of life. According to the regression analysis, geriatric depression and oral dryness affected the Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index scores. Conclusion: In conclusion, oral dryness and depression levels among elders influenced oral health-related quality of life. The results showed that to enhance elders' oral health-related quality of life, it is essential to not only improve their oral health state, but also relieve oral health problems, especially oral dryness, and take into consideration their psychological aspects.

• The Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.127-137
• /
• 2008

Purpose: This study aimed to explore the level of importance perceived by caregivers of elderly on the education of long term care nursing assistants (LTCNAs) taking care of elders with dementia or stroke. Method: Data was collected from 296 participants (112 families, 98 NAs, and 86 RNs) from October 2006 to February 2007. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Result: The item of 'attitude while caring for the aged' was identified as most important. The family group reported that 'position change' and 'understanding of geriatric diseases' were the most important for education, while LTCNAs, highly identified, 'bathing', and 'bed sheet change'. The RNs group regarded 'position change', and 'bathing' as most important. Institutions demanding LTCNAs' activities were special facilities for elderly care and special hospitals for the aged, and the need was also high in families with an elder incapacitated by illness. Conclusion: Nurses need to take an interest in education for enhancing the quality of LTCNAs and thus advance the quality of nursing care as well as the quality of life for the aged.

• 한국노년학
• /
• v.31 no.3
• /
• pp.831-848
• /
• 2011

The purpose of this study is to analyse the family caregivers' stress pathways by types of long term care services for the elderly, and then to discuss the findings of analysis. For this research, primary caregivers that provide care the elderly requiring long term care services sanctioned by National Health Insurance Corporation were drawn and surveyed. Among collected data, data for 258 primary caregivers by type of long term care services were used for this study. The results of this study can be summarized as follows. First, on average, the elders that utilize care service in institutions for the elderly were higher proportion of women, older, higher rate of bereavement, more children than the elders that utilize in-home care service, but some cases were vice-versa. Second, the elders that utilize care service in institutions more ADL dependency, higher proportion of severe dementia or severe stroke, higher care rank by National Health Insurance Corporation than the elders that utilize in-home care service on average. Third, primary caregivers with elders that utilize in-home care service were higher proportion of women, older, lower education level, higher rate of spouse and daughter-in-law in relationship with care recipient, less health, lower income than primary caregivers with elders that utilize care service in institutions. Fourth, subjective indicators representing caregivers' reactions to caregiving for the elderly significantly impact on caregivers' stress(ie, depression), and pathway of caregivers' stress are differentiated by type of long term care services. Fifth, stressors that have direct impacts on depression as caregiving family are differentiated by type of long term care services. Therefore, policies or programs to reduce negative mental health or stress of caregivig families should be designed differently by reflecting pathway of various stressors and stress by use types of long term care services for the elderly.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
• /
• v.12 no.1
• /
• pp.214-225
• /
• 2001

The purpose of this study is to compare the characteristics of the demented elderly and normal elderly over 65 staying at home in Seoul. Here, the demented elderly are defined as the aged who score under 20 on the MMSE-K testing. The subjects were 15.104 elders in home. The method is a cross-sectional study home visiting survey with questionnaires. Data analyses were conducted by using frequency, percentage, t-test and ANOVA procedures. Results are as follows: First, general characteristics such as sex, age, marriage, education, physical health, and family characteristics such as economic level and single living showed a significant variance between demented elderly and normal elderly. Second, the demented elderly showed a significantly high point of AD and IADL. Third, in contrast with normal agents, the dementia showed a high need for assistance from the care giver but followed the same pattern. In conclusion, the above findings suggested that a social support system should be developed for the demented elderly and care givers in the home.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
• /
• v.23 no.3
• /
• pp.169-178
• /
• 2016

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate effects of a cognitive improvement program on cognition, activities of daily living (ADL), depression, life satisfaction, and grasping power in small groups. Methods: A nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design was used. Participants were 127 elders who were never diagnosed with dementia and could read (experimental: 61, control: 66). The program was consisted of 8 sessions to improve vocabulary and writing skills and fine motor skills. Each session was applied once a week for 8 weeks. A group was consisted of less than five members. Results: Cognition (t=3.82, p<.001), depression (t=-2.24, p=.027), life satisfaction (t=2.25, p=.027), and grasping power (Rt: t=2.44, p=.016, Lt: t=2.63, p=.010) except ADL (t=-0.49, p=.622) were significantly increased in the experimental group after the cognitive improvement program compared to the control group. Conclusion: This study indicates that the cognitive improvement program was effective to improve cognition, depression, life satisfaction and grasping power. Further study is needed in order to identify continuous effects of this cognitive improvement program.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.399-407
• /
• 2012

To evaluate age and gender differences in the relation of cardiovascular risk factors, cognitive impairment, and subclinical carotid atherosclerosis from aged people using by a cross sectional method. Sixty-nine healthy elders living in the community who had not previously undergone carotid ultrasonography were included. We conducted life style surveys, and cognitive function tests including Korean-mini-mental state examination (K-MMSE) and clinical dementia rating-Korean. Various biomarkers from blood were assessed; fasting insulin-like growth factor-1, lipid-profile, high sensitivity C-reactive protein, total homocysteine, glucose, insulin, Homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) for insulin resistance index, vitamin B12, and folate level. Carotid intima-media thickness (C-IMT), and plaques were measured using carotid ultrasonography and aortic ultrasonography, a valid index of atherosclerosis. For the elderly subjects (aged 65-82 years), cognition impairment was more prevalent in females while subclinical atherosclerosis was more prevalentin males. Increased C-IMT has been kept in males, and C-IMT shows increasing trend and the peak at about 80 year-old in females with increasing age. The significant correlations between C-IMT and many vascular risk factors including age, triglyceride, abnormal homocysteinein male, and K-MMSE, insulin, HOMA index and abnormal aortic ultrasonography in female were different in each gender, with the exception of homocysteine (p<0.05). This data suggests that there were differences of age and gender characteristics in terms of subclinical atherosclerosis, cognitive impairment and vascular risk factors in community-living elders. Further larger and longitudinal studies across entire age are required to better understand the effects of risk factors on subclinical atherosclerosis.

• English & American cultural studies
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.27-50
• /
• 2018

Old age is often compared as climbing mountains which requires walking out of breath, yet with wider vision. And it is also likened to the estuary where the river flows slowly and broadly into the open sea. Socially, old age has been regarded as a symbol of wisdom and reflection, and elderly people often take the role of sage who leads the community. On the other hand, the dementia, gray hair and wrinkles of old age were sometimes perceived as the decline of intellect and vitality. Especially, in the digital age in which technology makes people more sensitive to physical artificiality, the evaluation of the old age becomes more complex and obscure. In other words, some elderly people can not escape from Confucious convention of the elders first, which causes the denouncement by younger generations. On the other hand, some elderly people are becoming more adaptable to the trend of young people, emerging as the new elderly people. The anti-aging movement, early adaptation of IT, bioengineering regimen also strong for the advanced age. However, as the new elderly people are active in many fields of society, they also face intergenerational conflicts in some areas where remains the overlap between young people and them due to the limited openings in economy and culture. This study is a transdisciplinary research which can be called old age humanities. First of all, this paper looks at the aspects of lifestyles and intergeneration conflicts in old age in four Korean and Western literary works about the old people, and also searches how to improve the quality of the later life of old people, Overall, this paper aims to explore the way the old people can achieve the full life with the help of intergenerational dependency through building aging humanities and new communities for old people.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.3-20
• /
• 2007

The purpose of this study was diagnosed to grasp the needs for the elderly-elderly care activity in rural areas. The research was conducted in questions and case studies in 7 farming villages. The major findings of this study as follows: First, the senior citizens in rural areas were not in good health, and the illnesses were revealed to be arthritis, high blood pressure, and diabetes. At the occurrence of an illness, they complained about the discomfort in doing daily life routines and expected eir spouses or offsprings to te care of them. Elders in the rural community responded that they had difficulty and financial problems in family maintenance. Leisure activities included watching TV, playing card/board games, or spending time without any specific activities. Second, recipients of elderly-elderly care expected to receive services from a woman in her 50s $1{\sim}2$ hours, once to twice a week. Third, the service providers wanted to be elderly-elderly care takers, hoping to work once a week for $2{\sim}3$ hours. They wanted the education for the elderly-elderly care to be once a week for 3 hours, with understanding the elderly, consultation, preventing senile dementia, and health as the contents.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
• /
• v.14 no.1_4
• /
• pp.25-36
• /
• 2007

The results of researching on duties of physical therapist, understanding of elderly diseases and policies related with elderly welfare came out from the survey before beginning of education to physical therapists who attended National Elderly Welfare Physical Therapist Workshop during Sep. 11th to 14th, 2007. They have already understood about long-term elderly care insurance from the policy, and responded that those policies will bring more advantage to elders. On contrary, negative response had reason of low service quality. About elderly care system, there were positive answer of appropriate alternatives to support them, but also other critics had opinion of inevitable choice for living conservation. About understanding of elderly diseases, there were more comprehension of diseases as age gets higher, but most did not understand dementia and paralysis. Past experience and process of medical treatment for their disease were such arthritis, paralysis, broken bone, and dislocation of joint. Prognosis of technical training was mostly answered positively, but linking with other related disease programs were not welcomed. Most respondents thought that professional training were needed. The results of understanding diseases during senescent had high percentage of understanding as age and education was high, and it had eye upon statistics of the survey (p < 0.05) Most of those questioned responded that it is appropriate to have six working days per week and eight hours of daily work, however, present wage is not reasonable. Most of those questioned had negative response of work independence, and had an-swered that there should be certificates needed in related fields. For difficulties during work period, they had hardship instituting direction of treatment by lack of program, level of wage, and physical difficulties. Physical therapists averagely wished to have fewer than thirty patients per therapist. After the research, physical therapists who work in those facilities of elderly care systems agreed on policies, though it should not lower service quality. In addition, they were pros to have elderly care system, yet they are still inevitable option to maintain living. For work environment, the period of work was appropriate, but had different opinions for work independence and regular number of patients. Therefore, there should be more organized treatment program that also should be linked to other practical programs at this beginning point of the policy enforcement and the time that many therapists hope to work in elderly care system.