• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.739-747
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• 2008

Purpose: This study aimed to uncover the fundamental nature of living alone in female elderly. Methods: The phenomenological research approach developed by van Manen was adopted. Results: The theme was 'taking a firm stand alone on the edges of life'. The composition elements of living alone experienced by elderly women were as follows: 1) Corporeality: participants perceived their bodies by their health status. Unhealthy participants were suffering with diseases and dependant on other persons, while healthy participants were free from family responsibility and kept on moving. 2) Spatiality: participants felt both freedom and loneliness while they stayed home. 3) Relationality: participants felt pity and yearning for their bereaved husband and sometimes talked to his picture. According to their children's filial piety, participants were pleased or displeased. However, they incessantly devoted themselves to their children. 4) Temporality: participants considered the rest of their life as extra-time which was proceeding to death, and tried to keep themselves busy before they died. Conclusion: A nurse should understand the multifarious aspects of elderly women's life, and then intervene to consolidate their strengths for self-supporting the final years of life.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.67 no.1
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• pp.55-81
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• 2015

With the psychological autopsy, an analytical method of backward reasoning for individual case of suicide, this study aims to investigate the causes and route of individual suicides in Korean rural areas, which has long had a bad reputation of world-wide high rate of suicide. The compound approach of the study which combines the psychological and socio-cultural aspects concerning suicide simultaneously, is able to make this study clearly distinguished from existing related inquires and results. Analysis of 25 suicide cases could make clear the typical characters of risky group of suicide in rural area and elucidate the obvious socio-cultural impact on suicide respective of several suicide type, for example, male and female elderly, homecoming youth etc. Then, the psycho-social interactive model to account for rural area suicide adequately could be established as a final result of the study. In addition, based on the findings of the study, several counter-plans to prevent the suicide-committing of the risky groups are suggested in short-term and long-term bases as well.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.141-149
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• 2004

Objectives : To evaluate the cost and proportion of complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) in the total healthcare costs among the elderly in the last 6 months of life. Methods : The care-giving families of 301 persons older than 65 years, who died between July 1st and December 31st of 2001, and were also registered in Self-Employed Health Insurance Programs in Seoul, were interviewed. Results : The cost of CAM was 1.09 million Won, which as a proportion of the total healthcare cost was 38.1%. The elderly aged between 65 and 69 year-old, male, living with their spouse, Buddhist and having cancers had higher CAM costs in an ANOVA and simple regression analysis. After controlling of various factors, age was the only significant factor associated with the cost of CAM. The elderly above 80 years old, female, bereaved and Buddhist had higher proportional CAM costs, and the elderly having cancers or cardiovascular diseases had lower proportional CAM costs in an ANOVA and simple regression analysis. After adjusting for various factors, the elderly above 85 years old, female and Buddhist had higher proportional CAM costs, and the elderly having cancers had lower proportional CAM costs. Conclusion : The very old and Buddhist, and/or the ill with no clear diagnosis, may depend more on CAM. Further research will be needed on the meaning and impact of CAM and their costs to public health and the total healthcare system.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.424-433
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to meta-analyze and compare the effect sizes of socioeconomic status and psychosocial factors on self-rated health among older adults. Also, to examine whether those effect sizes had been affected by certain moderator like gender through meta-regression analysis was attempted. A total of 487 effect sizes computed from 80 studies published in Korea before 2013 were analysed. The results of this research were as follows. Firstly, spousal support had the largest effects, followed by income, educational level, occupation, support of children, assets, non-family support, family support and social activities. Secondly, while the positive effect of non-family support on self-rated health increased for women than men, the positive effect of income decreased. The findings suggest the following; The importance of spousal support should be recognized for later life's health and the health support for those who had been bereaved must come first. Income security policies and non-family support for elderly women must be strengthened.

• Asian Oncology Nursing
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.143-153
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• 2004

Death of spouse is the most heartbreaking stressful and inevitable tragic life event. In middle aged men who belong to the social middle class and accomplished their occupational success, experiences of spousal bereavement are great shock. The aim of this study was to find out how they overcome their mental and physical pain and to obtain the basic materials to develop suitable nursing care programs for them. The methodological approach of this study is Giorgi's phenomenological analysis meaning unit. This method also makes theme focal meaning, situated structural description and create general structural description grasped by participator's experience through situated structure description. This study performed from November 2002 to May 2004, and participators were four men. Data collected through in-depth personal interviews. which had been tapped and analysed the Giorgi's method. Finally, the five focal meaning below have been abstracted. Theme 1. Physical symptom loss of appetite, fatigue, insomnia. outbreak of illness, weight loss. Theme 2. life of spiritless lack of desire, sense of emptiness, unstableness, prosaic life. wandering. indifference of appearances, avoidance of meeting people. Theme 3. life of retrospction reflection for his wife, yearning, grief, muttering to himself, never-to-be forgotten wife, leading a lonely life. Theme 4. negative emotion reproaching, feeling hurt, marriage of daughter, feeling heavy, getting angry, sexual desire, awareness of his sinfulness. loneliness Theme 5. social support and adjustment getting his wife off his mind, curring favor with children, support and consolation by his daughter-in-law, appreciation for hospice nurse, considering remarriage, taking care of himself, good relation with his children. The result of this study showed that middle aged men bereaved of their wife by cancer need other's concern. And we have to study further to understand their experience. Until now hospice nursing is concentrated on cancer patients But from now we have to provide their families suitable nursing care programs to adjust themselves to social life before and after death of patients.

• The Korean Nurse
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.68-87
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• 1993

This study was designed to investigate the family burden, family home care needs and to identify the relationship between family burden and home care needs for families of psychiatric in-patients. The subjects for this study were 104 family members of psychiatric in-patients at two private hospitals and one municipal hospital. The data were collected during the period from February 1. 1993 to March 30. 1993. The questionnaire developed by Montgomery to measure the family burden was used as modified by the research team for this study. The questionnaire was developed by Garrad to measure the home care need was also used as modifed by the research team. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOV A and Pearson Correlation Coeffcient. with the SPSS program. The Result of this study can be summarized as follows ; 1. For perceived family burden, the meanscore as measured by the guestionnaire was 70.6 of a possible to total of 110. 2. For home care need. the meanscore as measured by the questionnaire was 44.8 fo a possible total of 66. 3. The results showed a higher score for cases from the municipal hospital for family burden and a higher score for cases at the private hospitals for home care need. 4. Ther was a statistically significantly higher score on family burden for female family member (T =-2.77. P<.05) and for bereaved family members. (F=2.862. p<.05) 5. There was a statistically significantly higher score (F= 10.3535, P<.001) for family burden when the hospitalization period was between 7~ 12 months and a statistically significantly higher score (F =7.679.P<.001) for home care need when the hospitalization period was over 37 months. 6. Ther was a significant correlation between family burden and home care need. (r=.4002, P<.05) The conclusion that can be drawn from this study is that addressing home care needs would contribute to reduce family burden.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.15 no.9
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• pp.233-242
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• 2015

This study was carried out as a preliminary study to analyze how emotion(depression and anxiety) after spouse bereavement in old age affects social interaction and to set a direction of developing programs based on the cause and period of bereavement to promote social interaction for those bereaved people. To that end, welfare facilities and schools for the elderly and churches located in Seoul, and Suwon and Osan areas were visited and surveys were executed on 350 aged people who had experienced spouse bereavement from September 26 through October 25, 2014. Analysis was executed for 325 questionnaires out of the total of 350 using SPSS WIN 20. Study findings are as follows: first, the average of emotion and social interaction due to bereavement was not significantly different between groups; second, the average of emotion and social interaction due to bereavement period was not significantly different between groups; third, the impact of bereavement type and period statistically significant. These findings implies that social interaction programs for the aged people can be developed regardless of bereavement cause or period.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.718-727
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• 2017

The purpose of this study is to analyze the effects of the financial preparations for aging on the life satisfaction of single households are different according to their experiences of having been married or not, and thereby to suggest an alternative policy which differenciate single households with their exposure to married life from those without their exposure to married life. The analyzed data is based on social statistics in 2015 of the Statistics Korea, with 4,406 people, over 30, who are either never married singles or married but divorced or bereaved singles. Finding are, first, there was a statistically significant difference in financial preparations for aging between unmarried single households and married, and unmarried single households are more prepared than married ones. Second, life satisfaction of unmarried single households was higher than married ones. Third, the effects of the financial preparations for aging on the life satisfaction were shown from both groups, and married single households were more sensitive to the effect of financial preparations for aging on the life satisfaction.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.25 no.3 s.87
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• pp.1-23
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• 2007

This study provides basic materials that assist in marital counselling and marital therapy intervention through its analysis of the effects of marital communication and marital intimacy on psychological well-being and its systematic focus on middle-aged married men and women of social interest and importance. The subjects of this study were married men and women, aged 40 to 59, living in the metropolitan areas of Seoul and Kyeonggi; the study excluded those who were divorced, bereaved or whose last child was in over high school, but included those who were separated or in a second marriage. A total of 396 people, 134 men and 262 women, were included in the study. The major findings of this study are as follows. First, middle-aged married men recorded higher levels of marital communication and marital intimacy than middle-aged married women. While women showed higher levels of depression than men, there was no difference between men and women in terms of overall life satisfaction. Second, there were differences in marital communication, marital intimacy, and psychological well-being among middle-aged married men and women according to background variables. Third, marital communication and marital intimacy were shown to affect the life satisfaction of both middle-aged married men and women. Of the two, marital communication had more the influence. Marital communication also had the biggest influence on levels of depression among both middle-aged married men and women.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.252-263
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• 2015

Since 2004 suicide in Korea was the number 1 cause of mortality among OECD countries, the suicides and suicide mortality rate is constantly increasing. Using AHP(Analytic Hierarchy Process), we examined the main approaches and detailed policies of suicide prevention to confirm an effective suicide policy. A workshop and survey were conducted on August 23rd and 26th, 2013, with 30 people. There were 20 academics (4 social workers, 7 mental health workers, 5 psychiatrists, 4 clinical psychologists), and 5 policymakers and 5 administrative staff. In additional 5 people from social welfare and 5 from clinical psychology fields were survey from september 9 to 12 by e-mail. The research found 4 priorities. They include, suicide attempt management, building up public infrastructure for suicide prevention, support to bereaved families, and crisis management of high risk groups in society.