• Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.110-119
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• 2001

This study was designed to assess the needs for nutrition education and educational materials for older adults. Two cross-sectional surreys were conducted. The first survey, conducted by personal interviews, was part of the large-scale elderly nutrition study. Subjects were adults aged 50 and over, recruited from 6 large cities and 8 middle-sized cities(n = 1,850). The second survey, done by mail survey using open-ended questions, was conducted with dietitians working at public health centers or hospitals(n = 53). Adults aged 50 and over were interested in topics such as healthly eating(32.1%), hypertension/stroke and diet(22.1%), osteoporosis and diet(11.4%), and diabetes and diet(9.2%). Television and radio(58.2%), health professionals(12.2%) and friends(7.9%) were common sources of nutrition information. Preferred topics of nutrition education and sources of nutrition information were different by general characteristics of subjects, suggesting that nutrition education or educational materials be planned considering the characteristics of subjects. About 70% of subjects indicated that they sometimes use or do not use nutrition information in daily lives, suggesting the need to provide more practical information. Among 53 facilities responding to the second survey, 73.6% provided nutrition education for older adults. Common topics for nutrition education included diabetes(39.3%), hypertension and stroke(19.1%) and general nutritional management(11.2％). These were consistent to the topics preferred by older adults. As materials In elderly education, dietitians wanted primarily to use leaflets and slides. Boards, booklets and posters were other commonly cited materials. For contents of elderly educational materials, dietitians mentioned the nutritional management for age-related diseases(33.8%), general nutritional management for older adults(25.4%) and practically applicable information(19.7%). They also suggested that nutrition education materials for the elderly should use larger print and attractive pictures, and be easily understood, as well as presenting simple, specific and practical information. These results provide baseline information for developing nutrition education and educational materials for older adults.

• Perspectives in Nursing Science
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.73-89
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• 2006

Complementary and alternative medicine has gained popularity and respectability in recent years in the United States. Since aging is often associated with chronic health conditions that commonly lead to physical and psychosocial disabilities (e.g., depression, functional and/or cognitive disabilities, and decreased quality of life), older adults often seek options to maintain health and treat chronic conditions as an adjunct to conventional medical care. Herbal products, the most commonly used among various complementary and alternative medicines (CAM), should be used with caution due to potential herbal-drug interactions (related to polypharmacy) and herbal-disease interactions (related to comorbidities). Five of the most common chronic conditions in older adults are chronic pain, cardiovascular problems, hypertension, diabetes, and chronic lung problems. A high rate of falls or risk of falling is also a problem unique to this older population. For these conditions, only a few types of CAM (e.g., acupuncture, qi gong, tai chi) were tested, with promising results. However, in spite of evidence supporting the use of certain types of CAM to alleviate some common chronic conditions, findings are limited in terms of other types of CAM tested and both short and long-term effects. More rigorous clinical trials of various CAM types are thus warranted to advance scientific knowledge and establish evidence-based practices to care for the growing number of older adults who deserve to have a better quality of life.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.523-532
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• 2006

Purpose: The positive effects of health behaviors in older population are well recognized, but maintenance of health habits was more difficult than initiation. The purposes of the study were to identify predictors of health behavior based on motivation theories, and to analyze predicting power of motivational factors to explain health behaviors in older adults. Methods: The data were collected from older adults either institutionalized or living in the community. Total of 159 subjects with 72 years old in average were recruited for an interview. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis were utilized to analyze the data with age, residential type, and motivational variables. Results: The results of the multiple regression analysis showed that age and residential type explained 3% of variance in health behaviors (F=3.705, p=0.027). When motivational variables were entered, additional 56.9% of variance were explained by the model (F=33.275, p< 0.001). Among motivational variables, perceived benefits was the most important variable (${\beta}=0.346$, t=4.582, p<0.001), followed by self efficacy, emotional salience, and perceived barriers. Conclusion: Considering the importance of each motivational variable, the focus of intervention strategies to assist older adults to maintain health behaviors should be on modifiable and important motivational variables, such as self-efficacy, perceived benefits and barriers, and emotional salience.

• The Korean Journal of Rehabilitation Nursing
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.58-67
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• 2004

Behavioral symptoms are frequent and problematic components of dementia. The aim of this study was to detect behavioral problem of the 25 item of dementia problem behaviour(DPB)assesment scale for demented older adults. Seventy-three patients with dementia staying in the day care center, group home, dementia hospital, nursing home were recruited data on problematic behavior obtained through interviews with their caregiver during 2 months from March to May 2004. Results shows that problematic behaviors common occurring in 95% of subjects. The most frequently exhibited problematic behaviors were repetitive movement(1.05), repetitive questions(1.03), restlessness(1.0). indifference(0.97). shouting/screaming(0.92). Problematic Behaviors of the demented older adults were closely associated to the distress for caregiver. Most distressful ones for caregivers were repetitive questions(1.46), repetitive movement(1.42), shouting/screaming (1.42), indifference(1.41). restlessness(1.41). Problematic Behaviors of the demented older adults were divided into six subdivisions, among those restless behavior was positively correlated with aggressive behavior, nervous symptom and psychotic symptom. and then nervous symptom was interrelated to psychotic symptom(P<0.01). This study has limitation that field study data were derived from various primary caregivers.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.27-40
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• 2021

Objectives: This study investigated the working conditions of dental hygienists and their challenges in providing oral care to older adults with dementia using focus group interviews. Methods: We collected data for approximately a month beginning from August 2020 and divided the study subjects into two groups: the health dental hygienist and the clinical dental hygienist groups. A total of 11 subjects participated in this study. Results: The oral health management of older adult patients with dementia has not been efficiently carried out in local communities or dental medical institutions. In addition, dental hygienists encounter difficulties in managing the oral health of these patients and hope to actively learn more about their special cases. Conclusions: Based on the results of this study, it is necessary to develop a manual or program for the professional implementation of oral health interventions for older adults with dementia.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.144-156
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• 2022

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the influence of social capital on the depression of older adults living in rural areas. Methods: Data sets were obtained from the 2019 Korea Community Health Survey. The participants were 39,390 older adults over 65 years old living in rural areas. Indicators of social capital included trust, reciprocity, network, and social participation. Depression-the dependent variable-was measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Hierarchical ordinal logistic regression was conducted to identify factors associated with depression after adjusting the data numbers to 102,601 by applying the Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique (SMOTE). Results: The independent variables-indicators of social capital-exhibited significant association with the depression of older adults. The odds ratios of depression were higher in groups without social capital variables. Conclusion: To reduce depression, we recommend increasing social capital. Factors identified in this study need to be considered in older adult depression intervention programs and policies.

• 한국노년학
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.921-939
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• 2019

According to the social selectivity theory (SST), despite the disadvantages of life conditions, older adults experience less negative emotions because they regulate their emotions by avoiding negative stimuli or situations. Based on the SST, this study attempted to find out whether older adults are better able to regulate negative emotions than young adults in the Ultimatum Game (UG). In an UG, if the proposer proposes to distribute a portion of the money to the responder, the responder must decide whether to accept or reject it. If the responder accepts the offer, the proposer and the responder can each have their own share as proposed, but if s/he reject the offer, both get nothing. Thus, if the responder considers own economic benefits, it is a more reasonable decision to accept the unfair offer no matter how low, than to reject it. To accept an unfair offer, the responder must regulate the anger felt at the proposer. If older adults could regulate anger better than young adults, they would be less likely to reject the unfair offer than young adults. Fifty-seven olders and 60 university students participated in this study. Both the older and young adults accepted most of the fair offers. In contrast, older adults accepted unfair offers at a significantly higher rate than young adults. In addition, compared to young adults, older adults reported anger less frequently at the unfair offers. Accepting unfair offers was negatively correlated with anger report, but positively correlated with the emotion regulation measured by ERQ. The ERQ score was negatively correlated with anger report. Emotion regulation partially mediated the relationship between the age groups and acceptance of unfair offers. The present results showed that older adults accepted the unfair offers at a higher rate than young adults because they could regulate the negative emotions felt at the unfair offer better than young adults. This study provided new evidence for the claim that improving emotional regulation is a major developmental change in adulthood.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.121-128
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• 2006

Although population of the elderly is increasing rapidly, the older adults are the least users of the Internet in Korea. Prior research suggests that older adults are physically and psychologically disadvantaged when using the Internet. With the existence of the digital divide over different age groups, the objectives of this study were to identify the current status of Internet usage of Korean adults and to suggest some alternatives for solving digital divide on Internet usage. A total of 654 Korean adults, including the elderly, participated in both on-line and off-line (on-site interview) surveys using structured questionnaires. The results of statistical analyses indicated that the gap between the percentages of Internet users in younger and older groups was significantly wide, though many older adults had strong interests of Internet. To reduce this gap on digital divide, with an appropriate help from family and government, several characteristics of the elderly should be considered in designing some age-related web sites. Some effective alternatives suggested in this study may be used as basic data for universal design of Internet-oriented software.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Library and Information Science
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.133-157
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to figure out requirements and considerations of guidelines for libraries serving active older adults in Korea. The research data were collected by examining domestic laws and policies, foreign library guidelines and service practices. Two focus group interviews were also conducted with 10 librarians of Seoul metropolitan area. The research findings were the following: Specific guidelines should be set up including sections of information resources, human resources, facilities, service & programs, and promotion & marketing. The guideline should also include not only solutions for improving digital literacy of old adults but solving librarians' difficulties with serving old adults.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.214-227
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• 2019

Purpose: This study examined the socio-demographic factors, the disaster related factors, the physical health related factors and the psychological factors of older adults exposed to natural disaster and these factors may possibly cause the occurrence of PTSD. Methods: A cross-sectional study was designed using the secondary data from the 3rd Disaster Victims Panel Survey (2012-2017). The data from 1,397 disaster victims were analyzed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis. Results: Compared with the younger adult disaster victims, the elderly were more likely to have symptoms of PTSD (15.0% vs. 12.1%). Factors such as the number of years since being exposed to the disaster, anxiety, depression and social adjustment were significantly associated with occurrence of PTSD for both older and younger adults. Female gender was the additional risk factors for the older adults, while marital status, income, having witnessed another person's injury or death, and having lost a home were associated with the occurrence of PTSD. Conclusion: The elderly were more likely to develop PTSD as compared with younger adults. More targeted post-disaster mental health services to the elderly with the symptoms of depressive, anxiety and impaired social adjustments, should be provided to improve their mental health.