• Journal of Korea Game Society
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.49-58
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• 2014

We have developed a serious game for the elderly named 'Paldokangsan3' as a next version of 'Paldokangsan2' which was a walking game with memorization in shopping streets using controllers of hand buttons and foot boards with PC developed in 2012. The interface of had buttons and food boards were changed into the interface of motion capture with the aid of Kinect. The expected effects are improvement of memorization, improvement of concentration ability to find out items in the vision, improvement of vitality through physical walking actions, as well as improvement of mental health through entertainment activities of game play. We have tested 25 volunteers of more than 65 years old in Cheonan city community center for the elderly for 2 weeks. We got the result that the game play was showing positive effectiveness on memorization, physical exercise and self-esteem in mental health area of the elderly.

• Proceedings of the Ginseng society Conference
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• 1984.09a
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• pp.215-223
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• 1984

Panax ginseng has often been suggested as a geriatric restorative. This study is a double blind crossover trial to test whether ginseng can improve function in subjects with the depression and reduced abilities associated with senescence. 49 screened subjects were given 1500 mg Korean Red ginseng and identical placebo each for ten days, with a washout period in between the dosages. Standard tests of mental function, neuromuscular reflexes, responsiveness, mood and well being were used. The subjects were somewhat better at the co-ordination and speed test ('number copying') but tests of concentration and memory ('Concentration', 'Paired Association', 'Digit Span' and 'Object Learning') gave equivocal results. There were small improvements in mood and well being ('Life Satisfaction' and 'General Health Questionnaire') while the subjects indicated increased energy, alertness and less sleep, but also less happiness on the daily analogue scales. The major result was a highly significant improvement in reactivity, speed and co-oridnation at the tapping test, and the visual, auditory and disjunctive reaction timer. These are the most objective and accurate tests used in this trial. It is therefore concluded that ginseng can increase function in senile individuals. This effect is most easily visualisable in objective psychophysical tests, rather than the more subjective memory and concentration tests.

• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.9-21
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• 2024

Objective : This study investigated the effects of depression on online and offline social interactions among middle-aged and older adults with the aim of enhancing their social connectivity and mental well-being. Methods : Utilizing the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and the Lubben Social Network Scale-6, this study assessed depression and social relationships in 429 middle-aged adults. We explored the mediation effects of offline relationships on online interactions using path analysis and the Sobel test. Results : Significant links were found between depression and social relationships in a cohort of educated males averaging 63 years of age. Offline interactions mediated 32% of the influence of depression on online relationships, with strong model fit indices emphasizing the importance of offline social interactions. Conclusion : This study highlights the role of active engagement in online and offline networks in improving mental health and managing the impact of depression on social activity among older adults, helping prevent isolation.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.121-129
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• 1986

The authors studied depression, using Zung's self-rating Depression Scale(SDS), in the subjects of 65 males and 231 females at the homes for the aged in Taegu and Kyong-buk areas. The authors collected the data of SDS during the period from June to August, 1986, and applied ANOVA and t-test on the depression scores in order to compare them between various psychosocial factors and sexes. The results could be summarized as follows: There was significantly difference in the mean average of total depression scores between the two groups: elderly males scored $38.80{\pm}11.92$, elderly females scored $43.21{\pm}14.33$(P<0.05). The depression scores in the items of hopelessness, personal devaluation, weight loss, emptiness and confusion were relatively higher than the scores in the other items in both groups. Nine elderly males(16%) showed seriously high depression scores of 50 and over, while fourth-seven elderly females(33%) showed the same scores. Among these psychosocial factors, age, birth place, and growing place are significantly related to higher depression scores in both groups.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.143-171
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• 2017

Along with the well-established evidence on the negative effect of social isolation on physical mental health and mortality, increasing attention has been paid to multi-dimensional nature of social isolation. In this study, the main effect and interaction effect of objective and subjective social isolation on heterogeneous age cohort related to the onset of dementia, which is becoming a social problem due to rapid aging of health issues, was examined through binary logistic regression analysis. Data came from the first wave of Korean Social Life, Health and Aging Project (KSHAP) (N= 814). Findings showed 1) in the young-old, objective isolation was a significant on the incidence of dementia, 2) in the old-old, subjective isolation increased the risk of dementia. In summary, the relative influence of objective and subjective social isolation related to the incidence of dementia varies depending on the young-old and old-old. On the other hand, the interaction effect of objective and subjective social isolation on dementia was not significant in both the young-old and old-old. Based on the findings, we discussed implications and suggestions for future research and relevant policy and program development(dementia-friendly communities) for ameliorating objective and subjective social isolation.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.899-910
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• 2017

Objectives: This study was conducted to identify the rates of perceived stress of elderly people over 65 years old and to confirm the influence of stress on general health and oral health status. Methods: Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Survey for 2014, 1,472 people over 65 years of age were selected as final subjects. Stress was used as an independent variable and dependent variables were included physical health (perceived health status), mental health (depression), and oral health (perceived oral health status). The following confounding variables were adjusted for the current study: demographic characteristics (gender, age, education level, house income) and health - related characteristics (drinking, smoking, exercise, frequency of tooth brushing, using oral care product, dental exam, comorbidity, restrict activity). Complex sampling analysis was applied and logistic regression was performed to determine the effects of stress on physical health, mental health and oral health status. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% Confidence Interval, 95% CI) were calculated. Results: Logistic regression indicated that stress was significantly associated with low physical health (OR=2.18, 95%CI: 1.49-3.20), low mental health (OR=8.68, 95%CI: 4.98-15.11), low oral health (OR=1.53, 95%CI: 1.06-2.21) after adjusting for confounding variables. Conclusions: The perceived stress of the elderly was found to be related to the general health and oral health status. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate stress as a predictor of health risk for the health promotion of the elderly on multidisciplinary assessment and continuous evaluation. In addition, health support policies should be provided to achieve good health status for elderly.

• 한국노년학
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.683-694
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• 2010

This study was to investigate the effects of aquarobics exercise on body composition, fitness and health related quality of life (sf-36) in elderly women and to provide basic data to exercise prescription. The subjects were the 60~70 years old seniors who participated in exercise program at health promotion center and had been divided into exercise(N=25) and control(N=30) group, respectively. Aquarobics exercise was performed twice per week for 8 weeks at 40~70% heart rate reserve(exercise intensity) and body composition, fitness and SF-36 were measured before and after exercise. In body composition, there were significance in weight(p=0.044), body mass index(p=0.038), and %fat(p=0.005) between groups before and after. In fitness, there were no significance in fitness such as chair stand, and chair sit and reach, but there were significance in 2-minute step(p<0.001), arm curl(p=0.005), back scratch(p=0.023), and 8-ft up and go(p<0.001) between groups. In SF-36, there were no significance in physical functioning, role limitation-physical, role limitation-emotional, social functioning, mental health, and vitality, but there were significance in bodily pain(p=0.039), and general health(p=0.024) between groups. It was found that aquarobics exercise was one of the good exercise types for the elderly to improve body composition and fitness. Also, there was positive effect on health-related quality of life partially.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.16 no.10
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• pp.7078-7088
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• 2015

This study examined effects of health behaviors and sleep related factor on cognitive function in the elderly hypertensive patients. Data were collected through a face to face interview survey with structured questionnaire form 140 elderly with hypertension ($age{\geq}65years$) from February 5 to May 1, 2013. Research instruments included Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index(PSQI), Epworth Sleepiness Scale(ESS) and Korean version the Mini-Mental State Examination(MMSE-K). Cognitive function was negatively related to degradation in quality of sleep(r=-.29, p<.001). Sleep duration were negatively related to body mass index(r=-.18, p=.032) and degradation in quality of sleep(r=-.59, p<.001). Sleep duration was positively related to daytime sleepiness(r=.22, p=.008). Hierarchical multiple regression showed that age, education levels and living arrangement were associated with cognitive function(F=8.56, p<.001, Adjusted $R^2=.14$). After controlling for demographic characteristics and health behaviors, degradation in quality of sleep(${\beta}=-.27$, p=.008) was identified as significant predictors of cognitive function. This final model explained 17.0% of the cognitive function in the elderly hypertensive patients(F=4.09, p<.001). Therefore, as a strategy improving cognitive function of the elderly with hypertension, therapeutic intervention should be developed to improve quality of sleep considering age, education levels and living arrangement.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.155-206
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• 2023

When a person with diminished mental capacity refuses necessary medical care, normative judgments about when paternalistic intervention can be justified come into question. A typical example is involuntary hospitalization for people with mental disabilities, traditionally governed by mental health law. However, Korean civil law reform in 2011 introduced a new form of involuntary hospitalization through guardianship legislation, leading to a dualized system to involuntary hospitalization. Consequently, a conflict has arisen between the 'best interest and surrogate decision-making' paradigm of civil law and the 'social defense and preventive detention' paradigm of mental health law. Many countries have criticized this dualized system as not only inefficient but also unfair. Moreover, the requirement for the presence of 'mental illness' for involuntary hospitalization under mental health law has faced criticism for unfairly discriminating against people with mental disabilities. In response, attempts have been made to integrate guardianship legislation and mental health law based on mental capacity. This study examines the legislative process and framework of the Mental Capacity Act (Northern Ireland) 2016, which reorganized the mental health care system by fusing guardianship legislation with mental health law based on mental capacity. By analyzing the case of Northern Ireland, which has grappled with conflicts between guardianship legislation and mental health law since the 1990s and recently proposed mental capacity as a single, non-discriminatory standard, we aimed to offer insights for the Korean guardianship and mental health systems.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.182-194
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• 2013

Objectives: To identify and compare the health behaviors and health status of the elderly between urban and rural areas using the data of the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). Methods: The study population comprised 3,823 elderly people aged 65 years or older who participated in the $4^{th}$ KNHANES (2007-2009). The areas were classified into "large cities," "cities," and "rural areas" using the administrative and residential areas. The health behaviors and health status of the elderly between the rural and urban areas were compared using a complex sample design with the Rao-Scott chi-square test and weighted multiple logistic regression analysis. Results: Compared to large cities, the odds ratios (ORs) (95% confidence interval [CI]) of rural areas were as high as 1.58 (1.25-2.01) for the influenza vaccination and as low as 0.47 (0.37-0.59) for flexibility exercises, 0.56 (0.38-0.81) for muscular exercises, and 0.76 (0.62-0.92) for obesity. The ORs (CI) for osteoarthritis and diabetes mellitus were as low as 0.81 (0.66-0.99) and 0.70 (0.55-0.89), respectively. Conclusions: The health behaviors and health status of the elderly are better in rural areas than in urban areas despite the fact that the socioeconomic conditions in rural areas are poorer that those in urban areas. These findings suggest that programs suitable for residential areas should be developed and that studies to explain the differences in residential areas are needed.