• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.13-23
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• 2023

Objectives: This case study was conducted to assess the changes in the oral health status of older individuals with hearing and visual impairments through home oral health care based on community care. Methods: The participants were two older adults with hearing and visual impairments. Through home visits, an oral health intervention program, including oral hygiene care and training on strengthening of oral function, was conducted once a week for 5 months. Dental hygienists performed special oral health interventions such as dental plaque control through individual tooth brushing and interdental care, training on strengthening of intraoral and extraoral muscle function, and denture care for the individuals with visual-hearing impairments. Results: The overall periodontal health status and oral muscle function improved in older adults with hearing and visual impairments. In the case of the visually impaired individuals, changes in the oral health status were oral mucosal moisture (30.1 and 37.2 points before and after intervention, respectively), salivary secretion (3.5 and 4.0 cm before and after intervention, respectively), and maximum tongue pressure (20.5 and 26.2 kPa before and after intervention, respectively). Changes in the oral health status of the hearing impaired individuals increased from 28.3 points before the intervention to 38.4 points after the intervention, and the maximum tongue pressure increased from 1.85 kPa to 23.5 kPa after the intervention. Conclusions: Oral health intervention activities contributed to improving the periodontal health and oral function of older adults with hearing and visual impairments. To improve their overall and oral health, it is necessary to prepare measures to activate customized oral health intervention programs.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.305-314
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• 2016

Background: The purpose of this study is to examine the characteristics of and factors associated with long-term care (LTC) utilization under public long-term care insurance (LTCI) among end-of-life older adults in Korea. Methods: Using a 5% sample of older people aged 65 or older and their health and LTC insurance data, two-part model analyses were conducted. We compared LTC uses and their determinants during the last year of life among decedents in the year 2010 with those of survivors. We also compared the medical uses of the same sample with their LTC uses. Results: The end-of-life elderly were more likely to use LTC, and their expenditure on LTC was higher than their counterparts. Whether or not older people used LTC during their last year of life was significantly affected by age, sex, health insurance, household income, and living alone; however, LTC costs of the decedents were only affected by functional status, which may have been due to the reimbursement scheme of the current LTCI, which is mainly based on functional dependency level. For the survivors, having chronic diseases significantly increased the likelihood of LTC use, which was not the case for the decedents. End-of-life elderly with relatively low social economic status were more likely to use the LTC other than medical services, while the health conditions affected their medical uses most significantly. Conclusion: The study findings provide key information for predicting demand related to the increasing LTC needs of Korean older people at the end of life.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.294-301
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between dietary macronutrient intakes and prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in Korean adults. Data were obtained from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2013-2017), and a total of 11,600 Korean adults (4,918 men, 6,682 women) aged 50 years and older were analyzed. The daily intakes and percentages of energy from carbohydrates or fat in men or women with MetS were significantly lower than in normal subjects, respectively. High carbohydrate or fat percentages were negatively associated with MetS based on adjusted odds ratios (OR) of 0.804 in men (p=0.034) and 0.820 in women (p=0.045), respectively. A high percentage of energy from carbohydrates was positively associated with reduced waist circumference, diastolic blood pressure, triglyceride and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol in men. On the other hand, a high percentage of energy from fat was positively related with elevated HDL cholesterol and reduced triglycerides in women. In conclusion, our study indicates that high carbohydrate or fat intake is associated with risk of MetS in Korean men or women aged 50 years and older, respectively. Further prospective studies are necessary to elucidate the association between macronutrient intakes and MetS among Korean adults according to age.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.665-672
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• 2015

Purpose: The aims of current study were to assess the inhaler competency and medication adherence, and to identify association of inhaler competency with medication adherence in patients with obstructive lung disease. Methods: We did a secondary analysis of the Hanyang Obstructive Pulmonary Evaluation data in a single institution from June 2014 to April 2015 after an approval of Institutional Review Board. A total of 150 patients with asthma or chronic obstructive lung disease participated in the study. Inhaler competency was evaluated accuracy in each step for using metered dose inhaler. Medication adherence was calculated using actually dispensed doses based on the prescribed inhaler doses. Results: Older adults (${\geq}65$) had lower competency in using inhaler (66.7 vs 83.3, z=-4.52, p<.001) and poorer medication adherence (67.7 vs 91.8, $x^2=14.06$, p<.001) than adults (<65). Inhaler competency was associated with medication adherence (p=.26, p=.001). Surprisingly, more than 50% of patients were current smokers. Conclusion: Inhaler competency and medication adherence were lower in older adults with obstructive lung disease than those in adult-age patients. Therefore, an individual education program for older patients should be developed to improve the rates of proper use of inhalers. Nursing management for obstructive lung disease should focus on developing behavioral intervention strategies for smoking cessation.

• 한국사회정책
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.69-97
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• 2012

This study has sought to analyze factors affecting work and work preference of older adults at national and individual level. A few theoretical hypotheses such as economic need versus job opportunity (or employability), attitude toward paid work, pull effect versus push effect were tested for citizens in eighteen OECD countries with International Social Survey dataset(2005) using multi-level analysis. Main findings are as follows. First, most older adults wanted to work regardless of the socio-economic status, which implies that non-work of older adults would be due to involuntary constraint rather than voluntary choice. Second, there existed class inequality in that the higher class tended to involve paid work more than the lower class did among 55-64 age group. Third, the push factor such as part-time employment ratio, rather than the generosity of social security, explained the work and retirement patterns better. In conclusion, at least from the comparative perspective, the main problem of older adults' work seems to be of labour demand rather than of labour supply, to be of labour market structure and work opportunity rather than of the pull factor.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.138-147
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• 2015

Purpose: The study was conducted to identify factors influence suicidal ideation among older adults with osteoarthritis. Methods: This study used a cross-sectional design with secondary analysis of the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Data for 174 men and 939 women who aged${\geq}65$, and were diagnosed osteoarthritis from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2010~2012 were included. Suicidal idea, age, sex, education, marital status, living alone, income, body mass index, smoking and alcohol use, exercise, perceived health status, activity limitation, joint pain and stiffness, depressive mood, and perceived stress were measured. Influencing factors and odds ratios were analyzed using complex sample multivariate logistic regression. Results: In the results, 29.9% of the elderly with osteoporosis had suicidal idea. The adjusted odds ratios (ORs) of suicidal ideation were significantly higher among those over 80 years older (OR=2.88, 95% CI=1.49~5.58), those with depression (OR=4.01, 95% CI=2.66~6.04), and those with high levels of stress (OR=2.76, 95% CI=1.79~4.24). Conclusion: Therefore, older adults with osteoarthritis should be screened for depression and stress to decrease suicidal ideation and prevent suicide attempt.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.183-190
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• 2008

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a walking program on body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood glucose in community-dwelling older adults. Method: A quasi-experimental research design (one group pretest-posttest) was employed. Participants were recruited in Seoul and a total of 57 community-dwelling older adults completed the 10-week walking program. Descriptive statistics and paired t-tests were used in the data analysis by SPSS WIN 14.0. Result: The participants showed lower BMI, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, cholesterol level, and blood glucose level after than before participation in the walking program. Body mass index significantly decreased (t= 2.911, p= .005) after completing the walking program. There were, however, no significant changes in blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood glucose after completing the walking program. Conclusion: Findings of this study indicated that the 10-week walking program had favorable effect on BMI. Future research needs to target various older adult groups during a long-term period.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.73-81
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• 2015

Objectives: We tried to confirm physical activity of 1,000 Kcal per week was a meaningful point in controlling coronary artery disease risks in female older adults. Methods: Participants were 66 female older adults recruited from senior welfare center. Participants were provided with accelerometer (e-step, Kenz, Japan) for measuring daily energy expenditure. Graded exercise test was done for measuring aerobic fitness. Blood glucose and lipid were analyzed. Framingham risk score was calculated based on blood glucose, blood lipid, and smoking. These variables were compared between the group expended more than 1,000 Kcal/week and the group with energy expenditure below 1,000 Kcal/week. Results: The group expended over 1,000kcal/week showed to be superior to the counterpart group in following variables; AC(Abdominal Circumference), %BF, $HR_{rest}$(resting heart rate), $VO_{2peak}$, FBG, LDL-C, TG, BDI-II, QOL, AR(Absolute Risk), RR(Relative Risk). Conclusions: The group expended over 1,000 Kcal/week was likely to have less probability in CAD than group expended less than 1,000 Kcal/week. The result of this study suggests the important role of active daily life that can be replaced with that of regular exercise especially for those who are not available to do structured exercise.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.101-106
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• 2017

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the quality of life and stress level of the elderly living alone in their neighborhood volunteers. Methods Data collection was done from July 1 to October 1, 2015 and the data were collected by self-reported questionnaire at Nowon community in Seoul area in South Korea. The subjects were 146 older adults living alone agreed to participate in the study(accepted by IRB). The questionnaire was constructed with quality of life 26 items, 5-point Likert type scale(1-5), stress 15 items, 5-point Likert type. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics. Results Socially isolated older adults had significantly higher scores ($3.7{\pm}.03$) in quality of life, moderate scores ($2.9{\pm}.03$) in stress. Conclusion The peer support undertaken by older community volunteers was effective in improving quality of life in socially isolated older adults. It is necessary to listen to the voice of elderly people living alone through the activation of volunteer groups in the community.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.206-215
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• 2017

Purpose: This study aimed to verify the predictive validity of Comprehensive Korean Frailty Instrument (CKFI) among older adults. Methods: A secondary analysis of data from a prospective cohort study was conducted. Frailty was determined in older adults (N=9,188) according to the data in 2008 and the effects of frailty on adverse outcomes (such as institutionalization and death) were evaluated according to the data in 2011. The Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) index was used to compare with the predictive validity of CKFI. Results: The prevalence of frailty was 26.3%. With the CKFI, the frail group had a higher risk of negative health outcomes compared to the robust and pre-frail groups after three years. The two of the highest risks identified using the CKFI and CHS index were institutionalization (5.522 times higher) and mortality (3.210 times higher). For both instruments, the survival analysis revealed that the risk of death increased as the degree of frailty increased. Conclusion: The CKFI consisting of self-report items and multidimensional aspects of frailty can be used as a simple instrument for assessing the frailty of older adults residing in a local community in Korea.