• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.81-87
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• 2018

The purpose of this study was to determine influential factors for health behavior of elderly people living alone in an urban area. The subjects were 203 selected senior citizens who were living alone in a city. The findings were as follows: The subjects got a mean of 2.89 in self-rated health status, which was lower than the medium score 3. They got a mean of 2.64 in self-efficacy; 3.87 in social support and 3.14 in health behavior. These scores were higher than the medium score. The factors that affected the health behavior of the elderly people were self-efficacy, social support, self-rated health status, economic state, religion and gender. These factors had a 43% explainability of the health behavior of the urban senior citizens living alone. The findings are expected to make a contribution to the development of health care programs geared toward urban elderly people living alone.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.9 no.8
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• pp.265-272
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• 2018

This study is a descriptive study to investigate the factors influencing the level of cognitive function among elderly living alone according to the presence of dementia risk factors. We conducted a simple questionnaire, GDS-K and MMSE-DS tests to investigate the risk of dementia among 143 elderly people living alone in the community. The results showed that the major factors influencing the cognitive function of the elderly people living alone were education, age, depression status, smoking, leisure activities, and gender. In order to develop strategies for the prevention of dementia in the elderly people living alone, it is necessary to change lifestyle and provide various management methods to identify risk factors that negatively affect cognitive function and to help cognitive health.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.423-431
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• 2015

This study aimed to examine the mediating effect of social support in the influence of depression on the health promotion behavior of low-income elderly living alone. The data were collected from 294 elderly recipients of national basic livelihood security who are living alone and the data were analyzed by path analysis. The results were that depression and social support had direct effect on health promotion behaviors and depression had indirect effect on health promotion behaviors through mediating effect of social support. Results showed the importance of depression and social support in the health promotion behaviors of the low-income elderly living alone, which should be considered in the intervention. On the basis of the results, practical suggestions to increase the health promotion behaviors of the low-income elderly living alone were discussed.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.1-16
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• 2017

Using data from the 2015 Korea Welfare Panel Study, we examined the predictors of psychological well-being (life satisfaction and depression) of single elderly people living alone across development stages (young-old, mid-old, and old-old) and suggested implications for elderly policy. For this purpose, we selected 1,364 elderly people who lived alone but preserved their family relationships, and were 65 years of age or older. Separate analyses were conducted for the three groups of single elderly people living alone. Overall, the psychological well-being of single elderly people living alone was higher than moderate level, and they were generally satisfied with their everyday lives and less depressed. However, there were group differences: the young-old group was more satisfied than the old-old group with in their everyday lives and less depressed than the mid-old and old-old groups. In the young-old group, life satisfaction was significantly associated with subjective health, non-physical conflict with family, disposal income, house ownership, dietary deficiency, cost of living, and public pension. In addition, depression was significantly associated with subjective health, non-physical conflict with family, dietary deficiency, and physical conflict with family. In the mid-old group, life satisfaction was significantly associated with subjective health, housing non-physical conflict with family, disposal income, and dietary deficiency. Depression was significantly associated with subjective health, housing deficiency. In the old-old group, life satisfaction was significantly associated with subjective health and non-physical conflict with family. Depression was significantly associated with subjective health. Therefore, 'health'and 'family'are important key concepts to consider when making elderly policy.

• Journal of Digital Contents Society
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• v.18 no.8
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• pp.1661-1669
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• 2017

In 2017, Korea has reached 1.3 million elderly people living alone. The government is promoting the basic care service for the elderly by using care workers to check the security of the elderly living alone. However, due to lack of service personnel and service usage rate of elderly care workers, it is difficult to manage. To improve these environmental constraints, this study attempted to construct a monitoring system for elderly people living alone by using sensors such as temperature, humidity, motion detection, and gas leak detection. The sensor periodically collects the current status data of the elderly and sends them to the server, creates a real time graph based on the data, and monitors it through the web. In the monitoring process, when the sensor is out of the range of the specified value, it sends a warning text message to the guardian to inform the current situation, and is designed and implemented so as to support the safety life of the elderly living alone.

• 한국노년학
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.1015-1033
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• 2018

The purpose of this study was to examine the meaning and essence of the life of elderly men living alone in public rental housing. Among the phenomenological study methods, the present study used the analysis method proposed by Giorgi(2009). The study participants included 10 elderly men living alone in public rental housing who were recruited through network sampling. The research data were collected through in-depth interviews conducted twice for each person. The results showed that living alone as an elderly man is likened to standing against cold wind out in the wilderness of the world, with living alone deemed a power game between life and death. For the participants, public rental housing is a fence that separates them from the world-the final station of a wandering life. For common people, public rental housing is a stable fence, but for the participants, it is the location of a double-edged solitary life out in the wilderness where the instincts for survival and death play a tug of war. Based on the study findings, the researcher discussed and provided suggestions for psychological housing stability, the disparagement of the elderly in mass media, and countermeasures against psychological isolation.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.111-119
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• 2023

This study aimed to analyze the changes in news articles related to 'Elderly Living Alone' by comparing Big Data-based news articles related to 'Elderly Living Alone' reported before and after the outbreak of COVID-19. For this, 2018 to 2019 were selected before the outbreak of COVID-19, and 2020 to 2021 were selected after the outbreak, and news articles related to 'Elderly Living Alone' were collected and analyzed using BIGKinds. The main results are as follows. First, the number of related articles decreased after the outbreak of COVID-19 compared to before. Second, there was no significant difference in the analysis of related words. Third, in the relationship diagram analysis, 'Executives' before the outbreak of COVID-19 and 'Corona 19' after that showed the most weight. This study is expected to be used as basic data in preparing improvement plans for national policies and systems in the context of the spread of infectious diseases in relation to 'Elderly Living Alone'.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.392-401
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• 2023

This study aimed to investigate the dietary changes among adults living alone during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Korea. An online survey was conducted to examine dietary changes before (in 2019) and during (in 2021) the pandemic. The data from 337 adults living alone who responded to the survey were used for analysis. The proportion of the respondents reporting frequent food consumption at convenience stores (≥3 times/week) increased during the pandemic (p=0.024), and the proportion of those frequently eating ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook food (≥3 times/week) was more than doubled (p<0.001). Additionally, the proportion of those frequently consuming delivered food (≥3 times/week) increased by 2.5 times (p<0.001). In conclusion, the dietary habits of adults living alone changed significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have a negative impact on their health. Therefore, the development of customized nutrition management programs to improve the dietary habits of adults living alone during emergencies like a pandemic is deemed necessary. This study can serve as a foundation for understanding the dietary changes of adults living alone in prolonged crisis.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.310-321
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• 2018

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify the effects of the elderly's health statuses, health behavior, and social relations on their health-related quality of life (HRQoL) according to their family types. Methods: The subjects of this study were 1000 elderly persons (298 living alone, 420 living with their spouses, and 282 living with their family)living in C city in Gangwon Province. Data were collected through structured questionnaires from July 20 to September 30, 2015. The SPSS/WIN program was used for data analysis. Results: The HRQoL of the elderly living alone was much lower than the other groups. The most influential factors on the HRQoL include self-rated health and depressive symptoms in all three groups. Social activities and skipping meals were associated with the HRQoL of the elderly living alone and living with their spouses, while marital status, number of chronic disease, and instrumental activities of daily living were associated with the HRQoL of the elderly living with their family. Conclusion: Nurses should take into account family types when designing interventions for improving the HRQoL of the elderly.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.441-450
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• 2021

Objectives: Socioeconomic disadvantages interact with numerous factors which affect geriatric mental health. One of the main factors is the social relations of the elderly. The elderly have different experiences and meanings in their social lives depending on their socio-cultural environment. In this study, we compared the effects of social relations on depression among the elderly according to their living arrangement (living alone or living with others) and residential area. Methods: We defined social relations as "meetings with neighbors" (MN). We then analyzed the impact of MN on depression using data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging Panel with the generalized estimating equation model. We also examined the moderating effect of living alone and performed subgroup analysis by dividing the sample according to which area they lived in. Results: MN was associated with a reduced risk of depressive symptoms among elderlies. The size of the effect was larger in rural areas than in large cities. However, elderly those who lived alone in rural areas had a smaller protective impact of MN on depression, comparing to those who lived with others. The moderating effect of living alone was significant only in rural areas. Conclusions: The social relations among elderlies had a positive effect on their mental health: The more frequent MN were held, the less risk of depressive symptoms occurred. However, the effect may vary depending on their living arrangement and environment. Thus, policies or programs targeting to enhance geriatric mental health should consider different socio-cultural backgrounds among elderlies.