• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.389-401
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• 2022

Purpose: This study was conducted to understand the actual condition and influencing factors of being underweight among older adults in the community based on a survey of national older Korean's data in 2020. Methods: The data from 9,555 older adults in the community were used for analysis. Composite sample analysis was performed with integrated weights applied to the raw data. A Rao Scott-test and logistic regression were performed using SPSS 24.0 for Windows. Results: Underweight older adults in the community were found to have significant differences in age, subjective health status, depression, chronic disease, drinking, exercise, nutrition, chewing, and activities of daily living (ADL). The factors affecting the underweight older adults were age, subjective health status, depression, chronic disease, drinking, exercise, nutrition, chewing, and activities of daily living. Conclusion: A customized program is needed for underweight older adults in the community. In addition, attempts should be made to motivate older adults in the community to continue to participate in the program.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.354-365
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• 2022

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Understanding the mechanism of chewing and swallowing food is important when creating a proper diet for older adults. This study investigated whether texture-modified model foods can reduce the difference in chewing and swallowing parameters between healthy community-living young and older adults. SUBJECTS/METHODS: In total, 35 older and 20 young adults (mean age: 75 and 25 years, respectively), matched for sex and number of teeth, were recruited and their unstimulated salivation and tongue pressure were measured. Simultaneous assessment of chewing and swallowing characteristics was conducted using surface electromyography and a videofluoroscopic swallowing study while the participants ingested 8 g of model food with one to four levels of hardness. RESULTS: The average tongue pressure and salivation among older adults were 61% and 49.7%, respectively, of the corresponding values observed in young adults. The older adult group used significantly (P < 0.05) increased muscle force with more chewing cycles (P < 0.05) than the young adult group, which was maintained even when consuming foods with the lowest hardness, although without chewing. However, the age effect on oral processing time existed only for the hardest foods. Swallowing difficulties among older adults were demonstrated by the significant increase in vallecula aggregation time. The total food intake duration was significantly (P < 0.05) longer in older adults than in young adults, regardless of food hardness. CONCLUSIONS: There were measurable differences in the process of chewing and swallowing food between young and older adults, which can be improved with food hardness control. Adjusting food hardness may help food intake in healthy older adults.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.63-69
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• 2016

The aims of the present study are two-fold: 1) to explore differences on speech perception between younger and older adults according to noise conditions; and 2) to investigate which cognitive domains are correlated with speech perception. Data were acquired from 15 younger adults and 15 older adults. Sentence recognition test was conducted in four noise conditions(i.e., in-quiet, +5 dB SNR, 0 dB SNR, -5 dB SNR). All participants completed auditory and cognitive assessment. Upon controlling for hearing thresholds, the older group revealed significantly poorer performance compared to the younger adults only under the high noise condition at -5 dB SNR. For older group, performance on Seoul Verbal Learning Test(immediate recall) was significantly correlated with speech perception performance, upon controlling for hearing thresholds. In older adults, working memory and verbal short-term memory are the best predictors of speech-in-noise perception. The current study suggests that consideration of cognitive function for older adults in speech perception assessment is necessary due to its adverse effect on speech perception under background noise.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.31 no.spc
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• pp.563-576
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• 2020

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify personal factors, social factors, and environmental factors related to physical activity in older adults in urban and non-urban areas. Methods: We used source data from the 2017 Community Health Survey. The subjects of this study included some older adults aged 65 and over, and analyzed the data of 23,043 older adults living in the urban and 34,063 older adults living in the non-urban area. Results: The common factors influencing physical activity in older adults by region include current smoking and drinking, BMI, sleep duration, and subjective health status, help with neighbors, frequency of meeting with neighbors and friends, participation in social and leisure activities, and falls experience (p<.001). However, the living environment, public transport satisfaction, and medical service use significantly associated with physical activity for only older adults living in the urban area (p<.001). Conclusion: In order to improve physical activity in older adults in the community, it is necessary to consider not only the improvement of individual factors that practice health behaviors but also health promotion strategies that take into account social and environmental factors because there are environmental differences among regions.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.418-431
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• 2022

Purpose: The aims of this study were to examine the rate of depression among older adults living alone and to identify factors associated with depression in older adults living alone during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A secondary data analysis was performed using data from the 2020 Korea Community Health Survey. The study participants were 18,824 older adults aged 65 years and over living alone. The data of the complex sample design was analyzed with consideration for weights, stratification, and clustering. Complex sample multiple logistic regression was conducted to identify factors associated with depression in older adults living alone during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: The results showed that the rate of depression in older adults living alone was 6.3%. Older adults living alone with decreased physical activity, decreased hours of sleep, and an increased or similar frequency of meeting with friends or neighbors were found to be more likely to have depression. In terms of factors related to the practice of COVID-19 infection prevention and control rules, not disinfecting regularly and not wearing a mask indoors were related to depression. For health-related factors, fair or poor self-rated health status, not having breakfast every day, and feeling stressed were related to depression. Conclusion: It is recommended to develop tailored interventions to prevent depression among older adults living alone by considering the factors related to their depression during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.391-396
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• 2018

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to examine the level of community environmental perception of older adults and to identify the association between environmental perception and subjective health status among older persons. Methods: Analyses are based on data from Statistics Korea 2016 Social Survey. This study analyzed a total of 8,193 older adults aged 65 and over, and examined the association between environmental perception on air, water, soil, noise and vibration, and subjective health status using multiple regression analysis. Results: Study findings shown that environmental perception on water and soil had significant association with subjective health status of older adults. Specifically, older adults reported worse health status when they had more negative perceptions of water and soil environments in their communities. Conclusions: Results of this study suggested that efforts to enhance safety of drinking water and soil environments, and continuous research to identify relationship between environment and elderly health shoud be needed.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.106-114
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• 2019

Background: It is difficult to assess whether community-dwelling frail older adults may remain pre-frail status or improve into a robust state without being directly checked by health care professionals. The health information perceived by older adults is considered to be one of best sources of potential concerns in older adult population. An online measurement system combined with item response theory (IRT) and computer adaptive testing (CAT) methods is likely to become a realistic approach to remotely monitor physical activity status of frail older adults. Objects: This article suggests an approach to provide a precise and efficient means of measuring physical activity levels of community-dwelling frail older adults. Methods: Article reviews were reviewed and summarized. Results: In comparison to the classical test theory (CTT), the IRT method is empirically aimed to focus on the psychometric properties of individual test items in lieu of the test as a whole. These properties allow creating a large item pool that can capture the broad range of physical activity levels. The CAT method administers test items by an algorithm that select items matched to the physical activity levels of the older adults. Conclusion: An online measurement system combined with these two methods would allow adequate physical activity measurement that may be useful to remotely monitor the activity level of community-dwelling frail older adults.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.398-406
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• 2022

Objectives: While the risk of depression is expected to substantially increase among older adults receiving community care, leisure life satisfaction can be regarded as a key component in enhancing the mental health of those receiving community care. However, it is not yet known whether community care utilization increases the risk of depression, or what role is played by leisure life satisfaction in these settings. This study investigated the relationship between community care utilization and depression, as well as the main effect and the moderating role of leisure life satisfaction on the link between community care utilization and depression among older adults. Methods: This study, using the 2019 Korean Welfare Panel Survey, conducted multiple regression analysis on data from 4494 elderly people aged 65 years or older. Results: After controlling for potential covariates, older community care recipients were more likely to report symptoms of depression than those who did not receive community care. Meanwhile, leisure life satisfaction was negatively associated with depression in older adults. The test for interaction between community care utilization and leisure life satisfaction revealed that leisure life satisfaction significantly attenuated the link between depression and community care utilization. Conclusions: The findings of this study imply that leisure life satisfaction could play a meaningful role in improving the mental health of older adults receiving community care. Welfare policies affecting older adults should consider leisure life satisfaction as an important resource for reducing depression in community care settings.

• Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.26-34
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• 2004

Hypertension is prevalent among older adults, and nutrition is important for hypertension management. However, there are few nutrition education materials developed for older adults. The purpose of this study was to develop a booklet for prevention and management of hypertension for older adults. Based on lesson plans, topics for the booklet included introduction to hypertension, hypertension prevention through weight management, nutritional management of hypertension, and lifestyle modifications. After several revisions of the draft were made, illustrations and icons appropriate to the text were designed by a graphic designer using Illustrator 9.0 and Photoshop 6.0. The booklet consisted of four chapters and 40 pages. The first chapter dealt with information on hypertension, risk factors, complications and dietary guidelines. These were mainly explained by illustrations and characters of older adults. The second chapter included assessment of obesity, reducing fat intake and behavioral change strategies. The third chapter focused on practical tips for reducing salt, eating more fiber and calcium, and sample menus. The fourth chapter presented information for quitting smoking and drinking, and stress management. Finally, games, meal planning and quizes, were presented as reinforcement. Based on pilot testing with 10 adults aged 50 and older, minor changes were made in wording, expressions and information. This booklet is characterized by using simple and specific messages, providing tips for dietary and lifestyle changes, and using illustrations and characters of older adults to increase understanding. The revised booklet is self-explanatory and can be used by older adults or in nutrition education for older adults.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.295-309
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• 2019

The purpose of this study were to identify the dietary practices of vulnerable older adults and to assess the foodservice and food provision service programs perceived by the health and welfare service providers in the community. A survey was conducted on health and welfare service providers working in outreach community centers and community health centers in Seoul. A total of 260 nurses and social workers participated in the survey and 224 responses were used for data analysis after excluding significant missing data. The respondents consisted of nurses (58.5%) and social workers (41.5%). In terms of the dietary life of the vulnerable older adults, they perceived that the food cost was burdensome to the older adults and poor dental conditions prohibited them from eating various foods. The health and welfare service providers rated highly for 'home-delivered meal and side dish services are effective for checking older adults' conditions' but rated low for availability of menu choices. In targeting vulnerable older adults for food and nutrition service programs, the home-delivered meal service was found to be suitable for older adults living alone, those over age of 80 years, those with mobility difficulties, and those with economic difficulties. The food provision service was appropriate for older adults living with their spouse or other family members. Vulnerable older adults are a heterogeneous population with diverse needs related to food and nutrition. Home-delivered meal/side dish service and food provision services will achieve their goals when they reach the correct targets with a customized service.