• Journal of Digital Convergence
• /
• v.19 no.5
• /
• pp.69-79
• /
• 2021

As the government's public services have been digitized, the necessity of research on the use of e-government services by middle and high-aged people has been raised. Thus, this study aims to verify the mediating effect of digital capacity on the relationship between the family structure and use of e-government services of middle and older aged adults. The study analyzed 1,660 middle and elderly individuals from the 2018 Digital Divide Survey conducted by the National Information Society Agency(NIA) using Baron & Kenny(1986)'s method for mediation. The result is as follows: first, the family structure of the middle and older adults has a significant effect on use of e-government services. Second, the effect of the family structure of middle and older aged people on use of e-government services is partially mediated by digital capacity. The result represents that the elderly living with two or three generations have higher use of e-government services than the elderly living alone and married elderly couple. Also the elderly living with two or three generations have higher digital capacity, resulting in higher use of e-government services. Based on the results, The study suggested that the specific plan for each type of family structure to promote the use of e-government services and a plan to improve the digital capacity of middle and older aged adults.

• 한국노년학
• /
• v.38 no.1
• /
• pp.243-259
• /
• 2018

The purpose of this study is to investigate the moderating effect of home-based welfare facilities for older adults on the associations between the activities of daily living (ADL) / instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) and the depressive symptoms among Koreans in later life. Multilevel analysis was conducted with Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging 5th data and the public report about welfare facilities from Ministry of Health and Welfare in Korea. Samples were 4,139 older adults over 65 years old. The dependent variable was depressive symptoms, and individual level independent variables were ADL and IADL. The ratio of home-based welfare facilities out of 10,000 older adults in each city and province was the moderator. As a result, the effects of ADL on depressive symptoms vary according to the proportion of elderly welfare facilities out of the old population in the community. In specific, the older adults who live in the place where the elderly welfare facility rate was higher were less affected by ADL. Also, the more IADL people had, the more depressive symptoms they had. However, the interaction effect between IADL and the proportion of home-based welfare facilities was not significant. It suggests that delivering welfare services helping ADL through the home-based welfare facilities may be useful for decreasing depressive symptoms. Moreover, considering the proportion of facilities and older population will be helpful to make the welfare facilities efficiently work.

• 한국노년학
• /
• v.40 no.4
• /
• pp.617-638
• /
• 2020

It is important to maintain a healthy dietary habit to enjoy better health and quality of life in later life. However, taking care of one's dietary lifestyle at an older age may be a challenge. Especially, community dwelling low-income older adults are one of the most vulnerable population in regards to holding a well balanced healthy diet. The purpose of this research is to identify the current status of food delivery services for low-income older adults and explore related issues. In order to achieve the aim, this study conduced two sets of focus group interviews with 8 nutritionists and 7 social workers in Seoul. According to the research results, there are issues related to meals on wheels such as vague eligibility, poor operation conditions, work overload, and difficulty in realizing customized meal delivery. Food security for low-income older adults is a prerequisite for aging in place. It is necessary to discuss the ways to create favorable operating conditions to deliver customized meals and manage nutrition and hygiene from the perspective of social work.

• 한국노년학
• /
• v.29 no.1
• /
• pp.51-69
• /
• 2009

The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of death education on attitudes toward death and depression for older adults. A death education program consisted of needs of death education, alternatives for dignity on death, not ending death(I, II), hospice(I, II), and 9 patterns of death(I, II, III). Participants in this study were 38 older adults aged 60 years or older. Attitudes toward death and depression scales for Korean elders were employed. The data collection and intervention were performed from January to June, 2008. The subjects participated in a death education program for 1 time per week during 10 weeks. The data were analyzed with t-test, and Pearson correlation coefficients with SPSS/Window 14.0. After the intervention, the subjects showed significant difference in attitudes toward death compared to that of pre-intervention. The subjects after the intervention showed no statistical differences in change of depression compared to that of pre-intervention. Also, attitudes toward death were negatively related with depression both before and after interventions, but the change of relation was not significant. The findings of this study contributed to extend the base of program developments on death education enhancing attitudes toward death among Korean older adults.

• 한국노년학
• /
• v.31 no.3
• /
• pp.767-793
• /
• 2011

This study aims to explore how older adults construct their life-world in their ecological and socio-cultural context of rural communities and to understand what meanings they give to the life experiences they have had within their life-world. Two rural villages in Sunchang County in North Jeolla Province, South Korea were selected for this study and ethnographic fieldwork was conducted for about 2 months to gather the data. Despite the fact that rural communities face restructuring and economic decline, older adults in this study gave positive meanings to their life experiences. Doing agricultural labor particularly in later life let them maintain independence and continuity in life, and provided them with plenty of opportunity to interact with nature. Also, they had a sense of control over their physical and social environments where they had been familiar with for a long period of time. Furthermore, older adults had various memories of contributions to families and communities have been created. This research shows older adults in rural communities are active agents of their life-world, dismantling stereotypical notions of older adults as dependent, isolated, and marginalized. Implications of the study are discussed in detail.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
• /
• v.23 no.4
• /
• pp.320-329
• /
• 2023

Background: Oral frailty has garnered considerable interest following its identification as a risk factor for physical frailty. The Korean oral frailty diagnosis criteria have emphasized the need for extensive research on oral frailty diagnostic items and interventions. Our study performed an in-depth analysis of the tongue-palate pressure patterns in healthy community-dwelling older adults. Methods: Of the 217 older adults aged ≥60 years who visited a senior center in Wonju, 205 participants who completed tongue pressure measurement were included in the final analysis. Pressure changes over time were recorded by instructing the participants to press their tongue against the hard palate with for 7 seconds per cycle. The participants were divided into the normal and abnormal tongue pressure (NTP and ATP, respectively) groups based on whether they achieved the target tongue pressure at least once; tongue pressure patterns were compared between the groups. Furthermore, the average time taken to achieve the standard tongue pressure value was calculated for the participants in the NTP group and used to evaluate the decrease in tongue pressure in the ATP group. Results: Among the 205 participants, 40.5% had ATP. The tongue pressure graph revealed a gentle and consistent incline that was maintained even after achieving standard tongue pressure in the NTP group. The graph was more extreme in the ATP group, and the changes in the pressure type varied across individuals; the tongue pressure was only 48.4%, 40.7%, 31.9%, and 22.6% of the NTP in the participants in their 60s, 70s, 80s, and ≥90s, respectively (p<0.05). Conclusion: Tongue pressure weakness was observed in 40.5% of the healthy community-dwelling older adults. Furthermore, ATP graphs were observed in the patients with tongue pressure weakness. Thus, activities improving the oral function in community-dwelling older adults and systematic oral rehabilitation programs should be devised to promote normal swallowing.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
• /
• v.19 no.3
• /
• pp.205-212
• /
• 2019

Background: Sleep disorder is a precursor to depression, which is one of the psychological factors associated with periodontal disease that, in turn, affects general and periodontal health. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between sleep duration, depression, and periodontitis in older people aged over 65 years. Methods: A total of 2,002 older adults aged 65 years or older were included in the study. Their general and health aspects, including smoking, drinking, diabetes, hypertension, and depression, were investigated. Periodontitis was examined using the Community Periodontal Index (CPI). Data were analyzed through a complex sampling design method. Frequency and crossover analyses were conducted to investigate the relationship between depression and periodontitis. To investigate the effect of depression on periodontitis, a logistic regression analysis was performed. Results: Regarding depression and participants' general characteristics, statistically significant differences were found in sex, economic activity, smoking habit, and CPI (p<0.05). In the presence of depression, the odds ratio for periodontitis was 1.84, and the adjusted odds ratio for age, sex, economic activity, residence type, household income, education level, smoking habit, drinking, hypertension, and diabetes was 1.72, representing a significant difference (p<0.05). Conclusion: This study examined the relationship between depression and periodontitis in older persons and confirmed a significant correlation. As the population of older adults increases, we should pay attention to their mental and oral health as well as systemic diseases. Various programs for the health promotion of older persons need to be implemented to improve the quality of life of older people.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Library and Information Science
• /
• v.48 no.2
• /
• pp.159-175
• /
• 2014

The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationships between the online information activities of older adults and their life satisfaction. Online information activities were categorized into 'information use ability', 'information use time', and 'information device use ability', and the life satisfaction included such as 'feeling of happiness', 'physical condition', and 'economical condition'. A total of valid 341 responses were examined and analyzed to test the research model using SPSS 19 and Amos. It found that the online information use ability and the online information use time had a positive effect to the information device use ability; it showed that the higher the information device use ability the higher their life satisfaction. However, the online information use ability and the online information use time had no effect to the older adults' life satisfaction in this study.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.303-313
• /
• 2012

Purpose: This study was conducted to examine the correlation between social support, loneliness, sleep quality, and perceived health status among community-dwelling older adults. Methods: Older adults who lived in urban and rural local communities were taken into account. Among them, 396 people participated in this study. Path analysis was conducted in order to verify the study model and its verification. SPSS WIN 18.0 and AMOS17.0 were used for analysis of collected data. Results: The results showed that social support had a significant effect on perceived health status (${\beta}$=.17, p= .003) and loneliness (${\beta}$=-.56, p<.001), while loneliness had a significant effect on perceived health status (${\beta}$=-.12, p=.045) and sleep quality (${\beta}$=.20, p<.001). In addition, the results also indicated that sleep quality had a significant influence on perceived health status (${\beta}$=-.16, p <.001). According to results derived from the model, Chi-square=.359, df=1 NC=.359, CFI=1.0, NFI=0.98, RMSEA=.000; thus, the model was shown to be significant. Conclusion: For maintenance of the health of the aged, social support, loneliness, and sleep quality should be secured; in order to realize this, an effort should be made toward health promotion while providing the aged with more social attention.

• Journal of Korean Library and Information Science Society
• /
• v.45 no.1
• /
• pp.249-270
• /
• 2014

The purpose of this study is to discover the mobile-based information behaviors of the older adults with comparison of the college students and then to provide some fundamental ideas of the bridging digital devide for them. For this aims, data were collected from seniors and college students living in Daegu and Kyung-buk province via a self-designed questionnaire, and the data of 375 seniors and 323 college students were analysed with $x^2$ and t-test using SPSS. It revealed that the economic condition did not influence in the possession of mobile devices, and for leisure was most favorite activity in both groups. However, the college student group suggested the supply of free or low price mobile device; whereas the older adults group suggested the spread of education of mobile device usage would be the most important matter for bridging the digital devide. Various results of the study were presented with tables and figures in this paper.