• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.232-247
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• 2021

This study attempted to examine the nutrition knowledge of caregivers for the elderly and the diet-related medical treatment and dietary assistance given by them. Thus, this research is a descriptive study focusing on the current nutritional knowledge of caregivers and the dietary assistance given by them. The survey included a questionnaire (nutritional knowledge level of digestive system diseases, diabetes, cardiovascular risk, brain disease, bone disease, and meal assistance performance status) for caregivers working in nursing homes for the elderly. Self-administered questionnaires were completed by 235 caregivers between February and March 2020. The results were analyzed using the SPSS 25.0, and the significance test of each question was verified by the Friedman test and the Chi-square independence test. The number of elderly people who needed meal assistance from caregivers was 4.4 more than the average. The most common types of meal assistance were partial assistance (59.20%) and the task of when to stop eating for the elderly (58.71%). Besides, the higher nutritional knowledge level of the caregivers, the more the time spent on services related to meal assistance (P<0.001), and the higher the meal assistance level. The disease state of the elderly was considered the most relevant (P<0.001). Caregivers with high levels of knowledge and offering significant meal assistance were found to have received nutrition education (P<0.001). Up to 80% of the respondents needed nutrition education, and most of them answered that they needed education on appropriate management methods for the specific disease state of the elderly (P<0.01). Accordingly, providing nutrition education for caregivers for the elderly should be a means to improve their ability to offer meal assistance.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Intelligent Systems Conference
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• 2003.09a
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• pp.368-371
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• 2003

A new accurate and reliable human-in-the-loop control by artificial neural network (ANN) for human assistance robot was proposed in this paper. The principle of human-in-the-loop control by ANN was explained including the system architecture of human assistance robot control the design of the controller the control process as well as the switching of the different control patterns. Based on the proposed method, the control of meal assistance robot was implemented. In the controller of meal assistance robote a feedforward ANN controller was designed for the accurate position control. For safety a feedback ANN forcefree control was installed in the meal assistance robot. Both controllers have taken fully into account the influence of human arm upon the meal assistance robote and they can be switched smoothly based on the external force induced by the challenged person arm. By the experimental and simulation work of this method for an actual meal assistance robote the effectiveness of the proposed method was verified.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.163-173
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• 2014

This study investigates the dietary risk factors in elderly individuals in rural Korea by focusing on the development of service programs that can improve their health. The sample included 1,000 free-living elderly individuals aged 65 and over in rural Korea. A three-stage stratified random sampling method based on 2010 Korean census data was employed. Data on the dietary status and the need for assistance in meal management were collected through face-to-face interviews. The dietary status was evaluated based on the Nutrition Screening Initiative (NSI) checklist, and the outcomes for three groups classified base on their family type were examined. According to NSI scores, more than 70% of the subjects faced some nutritional risk. The activities most requiring assistance in meal management included preparing meals (18.3%) and purchasing food items (11.7%). More than half of the subjects reported that having meals at community senior centers at least once a week. The results indicate that those subjects from single-individual households were most likely to face some nutritional risk and require, assistance in purchasing food items and preparing meals. In addition, these subjects were least likely to be satisfied with their health and dietary management. To improve the dietary status of elderly individuals in rural Korea, any service programs should facilitate their daily activities by focusing on improving their diet, particularly that of those from low-income, single-individual households.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.23-35
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• 2008

Improved nutritional intake contributes to maintaining health and quality of life in elderly population and also reducing individual and social medical costs. Most of nutrition assistance programs for elderly, such as congregate or home-delivered meal programs, are not currently serviced in rural communities mainly due to low cost efficiency of program operation. However, the needs and necessity of such programs are presumed to be higher in rural area where the population density of elderly at nutritional risk is relatively high. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop a community-based meal program for the rural elderly. In 2007, four rural communities located in Jeon-Nam province were selected and the pilot meal program was applied for three months. Following are key features of the meal program model developed in this study: 1) meal production and service are operated by elderly participants to overcome the voluntary personnel shortage 2) utilization of locally-produced foods is maximized to reduce the meal cost, 3) traditional cooking methods are applied to adjust the food preference of elderly, and 4) foods are serviced on site to minimize the food safety problem possibly caused by delivery process. The pilot programs resulted in high satisfaction with the programs of participating elderly. The community-based meal program model developed in this study is expected to be used as an effective nutrition and health intervention model for the rural elderly.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.145-152
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• 2011

This study was conducted to investigate the meal quality and dietary behaviors of low-income family children by qualitative method. The subjects were 12 children(2 boys and 10 girls) aged 7 to 11, enrolled in an after-school care center in Kimpo, Gyeonggi province. Most of their mothers had jobs(83.3%) and 75% were the beneficiaries of a government assistance program. When compared using body mass index(BMI) percentile, 16.7% of the subjects were classified as being overweight. The food intake patterns and meal qualities were evaluated from dietary records for three non-consecutive days. The mean dietary diversity score(DDS) was 3.8, suggesting at least one food group was deficit. Only 8.3% of the records indicated a satisfactory intake of all five food groups, and fruit was the most deficit food group(58.3%). Also, the proportion of balanced of meals was low, especially breakfast(36%), in that main dish(the source of protein) was not included. The children had problematic eating behaviors, such as an unbalanced diet, eating meals in a hurry, skipping breakfast, and irregular meal times. They answered that they liked to eat simple meals and convenient foods. In conclusion, nutrition education should incorporate strategies to reach families and help with meal planning and management, as well as modifying the eating behaviors of children, in order to improve nutritional status.

• Journal of Sasang Constitutional Medicine
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.46-55
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• 2023

Objectives The purpose of this case study was to report a case of anorexia and fatigue after getting vaccinated COVID-19 treated based on Sasang Constitutional Medicine. Methods The patient was hospitalized for 4 days and treated with herbal medicine and moxibustion. The patient was asked to score for daily energy level out of 100 on his own and we used Karnofsky Performance Score(Karnofsky PS) on daily health status to evaluate the clinical effects. We also checked daily amount of meal and evaluated original symptoms such as insomnia, gastric discomfort, bowel movement and dysuria in four stages. Results At initial, the patient could only eat one spoon of a meal and was unable to carry on herself without any assistance, so she used a wheelchair on the day of admission. When discharged, the patient can eat half of a meal at each mealtime and perform normal activities by herself. Discussion This case demonstrates that Sasang constitutional approach to anorexia and fatigue caused by COVID-19 vaccination can be an useful treatment.

• The Journal of the Korea institute of electronic communication sciences
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.1001-1010
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• 2021

Normal people are not deeply aware of their dependence on sight when eating. However, since the visually impaired do not know what kind of food is on the table, the assistant next to them holds the blind spoon and explains the position of the food in a clockwise direction, front and rear, left and right, etc. In this paper, we describe the development of a meal assistance system that recognizes each food image and announces the name of the food by voice when a visually impaired person looks at their table using a smartphone camera. This system extracts the food on which the spoon is placed through the YOLO model that has learned the image of food and tableware (spoon), recognizes what the food is, and notifies it by voice. Through this system, it is expected that the visually impaired will be able to eat without the help of a meal assistant, thereby increasing their self-reliance and satisfaction.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.1185-1200
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• 2023

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: In the United States, one in every 5 children is obese with greater likelihood in low-income households. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may have accelerated disparities in child obesity risk factors, such as poor dietary intake and increased sedentary behaviors, among low-income families because of financial difficulties, social isolation and other struggles. This study reveals insights into nutrition and health challenges among low-income families of young children in West Texas to better understand needs and develop interventions. SUBJECTS/METHODS: In-depth individual interviews were performed via Zoom among 11 families of children under the age of 3. A semi-structured interview guide was developed to explore 3 areas: changes in (1) dietary intake and (2) sedentary behaviors and (3) families' preferences regarding a parent nutrition education program. Each interview was audiorecorded, transcribed, and coded using MaxQDA software. RESULTS: Eating together as a family become challenging because of irregular work schedules during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most parents stated that their children's dietary habits shifted with an increased consumption of processed foods. Many parents are unable to afford healthful foods and have utilized food and nutrition assistance programs to help feed their families. All families reported that their children's screen time substantially increased compared to the pre-pandemic times. Moreover, the majority of parents did not associate child screen time with an obesity risk, so this area could be of particular interest for future interventions. Meal preparation ideas, remote modality, and early timing were identified as key intervention strategies. CONCLUSIONS: Online nutrition interventions that emphasize the guidelines for child screen time and regular meal routines will be effective and promising tools to reach low-income parents for early childhood health promotion and obesity prevention.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.21 no.10
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• pp.31-38
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• 2023

Purpose: Each emergency event has several aspects of impact, including the effects on lives, economy, and the environment. Additionally, the damage to infrastructure systems can contribute to food shortages during a disaster. Research design, data and methodology: This research aims to study ready-to-eat food innovations that influence the consumer buying behavior of emergency victims and to develop ready-to-eat meal innovations to help emergency victims with an emphasis on research and innovation of Meals Ready-to-Eat (MREs). Results: A questionnaire was employed to collect the data from people living in Pak Kret Municipality, Nonthaburi Province. Pak Kret Municipality is administered under five subdistricts, covering 34 villages in Pak Kret, Bang Phut, Ban Mai, Bang Talat, and Khlong Kluea. Multiple correlation and multiple regression techniques were used to analyze the data. The study revealed that integrated marketing communication, unique proposition, customer orientation, and product variety influenced consumer buying behavior of MREs to help emergency victims at a statistically significance level of 0.05. Conclusions: The results indicate that, in emergency situations, MREs play a crucial role. When infrastructure and essential services are disrupted, MREs are a convenient and long-lasting option for providing timely assistance during emergencies.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.640-647
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• 2017

The need for an efficient sampling technique to collect aquatic organisms has risen with the increase of interest in rice paddy fields, which have been recognized as important ecosystems supporting biodiversity. In the present study, a submerged funnel trap used with the assistance of attracting agents (fish meal and chemical light) was designed as an easy, objective and quantitative tool for collecting aquatic organisms in the rice paddy fields. The preference for collecting aquatic organisms as a means for attracting agents was analyzed using a generalized linear mixed model. Also, based on the data of previous research, we compared the community composition of the aquatic macroinvertebrates, which were collected using the quadrat method, and newly designed submerged funnel traps, by analyzing non-metric multidimensional scaling. The results showed that the catching efficiency of 18 of the total 65 taxa was affected by the attracting agents. 12 taxa including Pomacea canaliculata, Hippeutis cantori, Austropeplea ollula, Erpobdella lineata, Ostracoda spp. Branchinella kugenumaensis, Hydaticus grammicus, Rhantus pulverosus, Chironomidae spp., Rana nigromaculata, Cobitidae spp. etc., favored fish meal and 6 taxa including Ischnura asiatica, Coenagrionidae spp. Sternolophus rufipes etc., were attracted by chemical light. The submerged funnel trap used as a measurement tool for biodiversity was less applicable than the quadrat method; however, it was more effective for the selective collection of specific taxa. We expect that this newly designed trap can be a simple and quantitative method for collecting aquatic organisms, and could be used for long term and extensive surveys in rice paddy fields in the future.