Abstract
The principal objective of this study was to assess the demands of the development program of silver health care professionals for elderly individuals residing in the Northern Gyeonggi-do area. To this end, a survey was conducted to investigate college students and employees related with elderly individuals in the area regarding their recognition, interest, and involvement in the labor training program. In the case of college students, the health education they had received was only 1 to 2 hours, from a school lecture(35%). The content of health education they desired was exercise(34%) and stress management skills(28%). The sources of health information they received included mass media(77%) and the internet(12%), and they trusted the information they received from health professionals(45%), and the mass media(34%). In the case of health professionals who were working at silver care facilities, the sources of health information to which they had access were mass media(51%), internet(14%), reliable health professionals(56%), mass media(22%), and books related to health (18%). The principal issues they reported as being relevant to the elderly were dementia(39%), hypertension(14%), arthritis (11%), and they reported that the most important personnel for elderly in the future would be care managers(44%), and care helpers(21%). 88% of subjects believed that there was a need for a silver welfare integrated information system. 43% of subjects used the internet, 77% of them required in-service training programs for the welfare of the elderly. Via this developmental program of silver health care professionals, a variety of new job opportunities can be provided in the future, and a program related to the silver service industry must be established as soon as possible.