• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• 제16권1호
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• pp.13-29
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• 2002

The purpose of this study was to describe about elders with dementia, their families, and their living environment by visiting the households where demented elders resided. The findings will be used as a basis to develop future individualized adjustment programs for demented elders and their families living in communities. The study participants were 64 demented elders and their families who were registered to a dementia counseling center at Nam-Gu community health center located in Inchon, Korea. Data were collected for two months, from May to June 2001. The length of data collection for each home visit ranged from 1.5 to 2.5 hours. Conclusion are as follows based on these study findings: Those demented elders had more than one chronic health problem in addition to their pre-existing dementia condition. Two thirds of the demented elders were not receiving any specific treatment for dementia. They showed a moderate level of independence in basic ADL, but were mostly residing at home because of lack of ability to perform more delicate and complicate routine daily activities by themselves. In addition, the primary caregivers were not well adjusted to the care-giving activities for their demented family members due to the lack of knowledge and information about dementia. The caregivers were mostly women including daughters-in-law, woman spouses and daughters, over a half of whom perceived their physical and mental health status as poor. Their image toward the demented elders was considerably negative. while their level of knowledge on dementia was moderate. The burden for the care-giving was high, whereas their coping method was passive. As the difference in image toward elderly before and after the onset of dementia in their family member increases, the caregiver burden also increased. The main resource of social support for the caregivers was their children. The caregivers showed high level of needs for knowledge and information on dementia, and day care service was the most preferred type of service by the caregivers. There was lack of safety in the living environments for the demented elders and their families, and in the surrounding environments to prevent dementia-related symptoms. Considering that home-based family care-giving is the most culturally appropriate model of providing care for the demented elders in Korea, we need to develop and apply an individualized adjustment program for the demented elders and their families.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Technology Engineers
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• 제22권3_1spc호
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• pp.600-606
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• 2013

This paper describes the development of a novel walking assistance robot for the elderly and infirm. In the case of simple walking assistance devices, the walking safety and effectiveness are somewhat low; hence, caregivers are frequently required. The walking assistance robot developed in this research is capable of securely and conveniently assisting a walking user by using electric motors and various devices without a caregiver. The main features include the following. First, the walking safety is improved by using a pelvis supporter, and the robot is able to follow the user effectively by means of ergonomic motion sensors and electric powered wheels. Second, it is possible to adjust the load applied to the lower body by adjusting the height of the pelvis supporter. Finally, it is possible to inform the approximate distance and direction of any obstacle around the robot using the sounds and vibrations for the blind and the hearing impaired. The performance of the developed walking assistance robot was successfully verified using a walking assistance test in a narrow-corridor environment.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• 제30권3호
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• pp.176-186
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• 2024

Purpose: With the recent increase in interest in patient safety, prevention of falls in hospitalized children has become important. This study aimed to identify the incidence rate of falls among hospitalized children and explore fall-related characteristics. Methods: This retrospective descriptive study analyzed the medical information of 18,119 patients aged <18 years admitted to a general hospital in South Korea from electronic medical records and fall event reports between January 1, 2018, and September 30, 2023. The study variables included the general and clinical characteristics of the fall group and fall-related characteristics of the fall events. This study employed descriptive statistics and a chi-square test using IBM SPSS version 26.0. Results: Among the patients, 82 fall events were identified. Therefore, the fall incidence rate was 4.5 falls per 1,000 patients. Furthermore, a statistically significant difference was found concerning the type of injury sustained between children >1 year old and those <1 year old, and most cases had no damage or bruises. More cases were found in which falls occurred two days after hospitalization in winter and summer than on the day or the day after hospitalization, which was a statistically significant difference. In addition, fall prevalence was higher between 8 am and 4 pm, and when no caregiver was present. Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, education and interventions to prevent fall events in infants and toddlers should persist throughout hospitalization, and it is necessary to guide continuous management and observation of the caregivers.

• International Journal of Human Ecology
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• 제13권2호
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• pp.87-100
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• 2012

Smart wear integrates computing technology into fabric or a garment for additional functionality. This research explored the attitudes and opinions of the use of smart wear from the viewpoint of caregivers. Thirty two individuals including care providers of children and adult family members with health problems participated in focus group interviews. Participants reported being interested in smart wear because of the potential to detect the location (GPS) of a dependent (e.g., child, elderly) and to monitor vital signs. Participants indicated perceived advantages of smart wear such as identifying geographical location and effectiveness. Perceived concerns mentioned were privacy/security issues and accuracy of data. Participants taking care of dependents without a specific disease were hesitant to adopt and pay for smart wear. However, caregivers of elderly individuals expressed positive adoption intentions and willingness to reasonably pay for smart wear. They indicated expectations that potential insurance would provide coverage for cost savings. Caregivers expressed the need of specific requirements for future adoption such as customizability, and comfort/safety. Specific to smart wear clothing, most respondents preferred it be an undershirt or a jacket with a sensor located in the shoulder area. The findings from this study can be used in product development, promotion and marketing of smart wear.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• 제31권2호
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• pp.379-388
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• 2012

Objective: This study developed a new shower carrier prototype to reduce caregivers' muscle burden and to increase use convenience by reflecting the needs of domestic long-term care institutions. Background: In the long-term care institutions, one of the ADL(Activities of Daily Life) factors is bathing/showering. Recently, bath/shower-assisting equipment is actively being introduced in care institutions to reduce the caregivers' care cost, but most of the domestic equipment was designed to imitate foreign products and rarely reflected the needs of care institutions. Method: Based on Korean elderly people's body information, the bed size(length: 1,900mm, width: 650mm) was set-up, and a variable headrest with a newly designed headform was developed to provide the comfort for the elderly and convenience for caregivers. To reduce caregivers' muscle burden on transferring and showering activities, a 3-step column lifting module equipped with dual actuators(lowest/highest levels from the ground: 600/1,100mm, Stroke: 500mm) was developed, and the wheelbase parameter(length: 1,250mm, width: 580mm) was defined securing the turn-over safety of the shower carrier. The drivability tests were performed for the prototype and foreign product, and the male and female subject's muscle activities were measured through the tests. Results: The structural stability of the shower carrier prototype was secured by finite element analysis, and the muscle activities of the subjects through the drivability tests largely decreased in the prototype, compared to the foreign product. Conclusion: In this study, a new shower carrier prototype was developed to possibly reduce caregivers' muscle burden and to increase use convenience based on the needs of long-term care institutions. It was expected that the drivability performance of the prototype could be relatively superior to that of the foreign product. Application: The results obtained from the study can be applied for the optimal development of a shower carrier including other equipment to effectively care for the elderly.

• The Journal of the Korea institute of electronic communication sciences
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• 제14권6호
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• pp.1241-1248
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• 2019

In this paper, an auxiliary device was implemented to help blind people more safely from obstacles or risk factors while walking. The ultrasonic sensors detect obstacles in the front, so that the noise gap and the vibration intensity of the buzzer can be heard differently by distance and angle, and so the situation can be perceived by pedestrians. When the ambient light becomes darker than the light intensity set using the CdS resistance value of the light sensor, the LED automatically turns on, makes it easier for pedestrians to recognize the position of the auxiliary device through buzzer if the pedestrian misses the aid using the gyro sensor's slope. Moreover, the location and situation of the blind were transmitted to the caregiver to check safety and behavior using GPS and Bluetooth.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing
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• 제7권1호
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• pp.122-136
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• 2000

Stroke patient needs rehabilitation after receiving an acute treatment in a hospital. When stroke patient gets involved in an early discharge program, home care nurse plays a pivotal role to make them to gain a full strength and to come back to his/her prior life before he/she is sick. In spite of the importance of home care nursing intervention protocol for home care nurses to perform home care nursing autonomously, home care nursing intervention protocol for stroke patient is rarely developed. Therefore this study was conducted to develop home care nursing protocol that is applicable for stroke patients in home care nursing area. 41 home care nursing charts for stroke patients registered in home care nursing agencies from December 1st 1994 to August 31st 1999 at Y hospitals in Seoul and Won-Ju city were analyzed. 44 home care nurses who were having over three years' experience on stroke patients were participated in this study as a user validity validation group. The results of this study are as follows. 1. 28 nursing diagnoses were selected on the basis of evaluation of nursing diagnoses of stroke patients presented in a previous literature and case studies on home care nursing. 2. 17 nursing diagnoses were classified through the frequency analysis of home care nursing charts for 41 stroke patients who had received home care nursing. The order of sequence was like these: impaired skin integrity, risk for infection, nutritional deficit, impaired physical mobility, constipation, knowledge deficit, ineffective airway clearance, anxiety in family members, risk for aspiration, self care deficit, altered urinary elimination, ineffective individual coping, social isolation, risk for injury, self-esteem disturbance, impaired verbal communication, fatigue of family caregiver. 3. Based on validation on expert and user validities, 44 nursing interventions which were above ICV=.80 were chosen. 4. Nursing intervention protocols which showed above ICV=.90 were developed and were like these; pressure ulcer care, position change, preventive care for circulatory dysfunction, tube care : catheter, vital sign monitor, constipation/impaction management, artificial airway management, suction of airway secretion, environmental management : safety, and fall prevention.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• 제24권1호
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• pp.100-106
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• 2020

In this paper smart shoes for dementia care using embedded boards and Low Power Wide Area technology and their application software are implemented. The communication board composed of Cortex-M3 board and LoRa module is embedded into groove made in outsole of smart shoes. Including the mold, the shoe outsole was manufactured by hand. By using application software and embedded board, caregiver can track the position of dementia patient using GPS and LoRa network. The location tracking and data transmission operations of smart shoes have been successfully verified in the outdoor environment. The smart shoes of this paper are applicable to a safety device to prevent the disappearance of demented patients through results of experiments and if bigdata is collected and analyzed by deep-learning, it may be helpful to analyze the predictive path of dementia patients or the pattern of dementia.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• 제30권4호
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• pp.9-16
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• 2023

Background: Bedridden patients and disabled persons need help from a guardian or caregiver even in performing simple activities of daily living. In particular, for body transfer of them, the use of a transfer lift has been recommended. However, the devices currently in use have limitations in terms of support according to the individual's characteristics. This study aimed to develop a transfer lift device utilizing the patients' body-fitting sling equipped with an air tube inside the sling. In addition, we have conducted usability tests to examine the safety, effectiveness, and satisfaction with this device. Design: This study conducted usability tests with 10 healthy adults. Methods: Customized sling lifts are generally floor-based devices that consisted of a sling that holds the patient's body and a lift that moves the sling to the desired position. One characteristic feature of the device is an air tube, which is used on the sling to allow the patient's body can be adjusted. A usability test was performed in terms of the operators, who operated the device to transfer the patients. Ten operators tried the device and tested its usability. Results: The mean of 10 question for Questions was 4.18. Conclusion: The device can be useful in the advance- ment and commercialization of customized sling lifts, to ensure the safe and efficient transfer of persons with disabilities.

• 한국노년학
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• 제38권3호
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• pp.501-519
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• 2018

The purpose of this study was to explore perception about shared decision making of family caregivers of patients with early dementia (PWED). This study was conducted with a sample of 12 family caregivers (mean age = $71.4{\pm}10.4$) of PWED from three dementia safety centers in Seoul. In-depth interviews were done for each participant about shared decision making and data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Six categories and 17 sub-categories identified for participants' perception about shared decision making: means to facilitate communication with patients with dementia, means to secure autonomy of patients, opportunity to facilitate treatment, cause of increasing family caregivers' burden, cause of worsening relationship with patients, and option for choices depending on priority change. The findings of this study can provide a knowledge basis for health care professionals and policy makers to understand how family caregivers of PWED think about shared decision making. It would be of great value to develop educational programs and practical guidelines about shared decision making for PWED and their family, which may contribute to respecting PWED's self-determination right as well as reducing burden of their family.