Purpose: This study was done to investigate the status of drug misuse and abuse in community-dwelling elders. Methods: The participants in this study were elders who were 65 years or over, and lived in ChungNam province. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Results: All of the participants reported taking both prescription and non-prescription drugs, and 78.4% used two or more kinds of drugs. Of the elders, 74.5% reported that they did not receive any education about drug misuse and abuse. The mean score for behaviors related to drug misuse was 8.76. Conclusions: Results indicate that many elders take medicine frequently, but they do not have any knowledge about drugs and possible side effects. This lack of knowledge might mean that they continue to use and misuse prescription and non-prescription drugs. It is important that elders be provided with precise information about medicines.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify health-related factors, especially for the elderly who are subject to visiting health care at vulnerable populations. Methods: Tools were Guide to Community Integrated Health Promotion Project 2016, Visit Health Care Health Interview Survey, measures of physical function, motor skills, composite mobility, BMI, and subjective fitness levels. Depression was measured with the Short Results: Older elders living alone were more vulnerable than those with living others. Elders with less education showed greater weakness but the difference was not significant. Average scores for frailty were 2.21 (healthy group), 7.66 (high-risk group) and 15.69 (frail group). Scores based on weakness level differed significantly with the exception of nutrition. Nine out of 10 elders in disadvantaged areas were in the frail group or at high risk. Conclusion: Results support the goal to maintain/improve physical/mental functions through individual management of high-risk/frail older adults at risk of becoming infirm. It is imperative to implement a public health care delivery system to ensure programs are operated effectively and personalized.