• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.27-34
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• 2012

The aim of study was to assess the effectiveness of dementia elderly persons on the cognitive function, Activities of Daily Living(ADL) and balance-performing ability the group therapeutic exercise programs. Fifteen community-dwelling subjects participated in this study. An 4-week group therapeutic exercise program, including strengthening and balance training, breathing and gait exercise, and recreation, consisted of activities related to daily living. The Mini-Mental State Examination-korean(MMSE-K), Modified Barthel Index(MBI), Berg Balance Scale(BBS), and Timed Up & Go (TUG) test were measured during before and after exercise points The results of this study were as follows : 1) After eight weeks, the MMSE-K and MBI total scores were significantly increased to more after than before(p<.05, p<.01). 2) in the MBI contents, personal hygiene, dressing, ambulation and chair, bed transfers scores were significant increased to after. 3) after BBS, TUG scores were statistically significant higher than the before scores(p<.05, p<.05, p<.01). These findings suggest that group therapeutic exercise program can be used to improve the cognitive function, ADL and balance-performing ability in dementia elderly persons.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.97-111
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• 2002

Despite the substantial increase of the elderly population in Korea, welfare policies such as housing programs have not been developed enough to meet the diverse needs of the aging people. Particularly, caring for elderly dementia patients is becoming a serious social problem in Korean society. Families are still primarily responsible for taking care of the elderly dementia patients, and thus are suffering from tremendous caregiving burdens. In many Western countries, group homes, which are small-scale care facilities with home-like atmosphere, have become common housing alternatives for elderly dementia patients. Group homes effectively create a therapeutic environment while helping reduce the elder care burdens for the families. This article proposes to review group homes as a housing option for the elderly with dementia in Korea. The purpose of this article is to make suggestions for housing policies, separately or as a part of more general welfare policies. Based on the questionnaire survey conducted on 912 persons currently residing in Seoul and five different provinces, various possible policies and suggestions to promote establishing group homes and other facilities for elderly dementia patients are discussed in this article.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.197-210
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• 1997

This study was conducted to test the effect of cognitive stimulation training on elderly persons with dementia. The design of the research was one group in pre-test-post-test design. The subjects were nine demented persons over sixty years, with mild to moderate cognitive impairment. Training was administered by research assistants on a one to one basis for thirty to forty minutes, three times a week for eight weeks. In order to evaluate the effect of cognitive stimulation training, we measured cognitive function before and after three training sessions each. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and a paired t-test analysis using a spss pc package, The results are as follows: 1) The recipients of the training program showed improvement in overall cognitive functioning. The MMSK - K score, recall levels of concepts, daily tasks, personal past history and performance of word fluency were significantly increased after training. 2) There was a significant improvement in cognitive functioning over the training period: recall levels of concepts, daily tasks, past personal history and performance of word fluency significantly increased over the training period progessively, The results suggest that cognitive stimulation training is effective in improving and maintaining overall cognitive function of elderly persons with dementia.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.77-96
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• 1996

The purposes of this study were to understand caregiving situation and to develop education program for families with the demented elderly,. Family caregivers of elderly patients with dementia clearly experience high levels of stress which often leads to such negative caregiver outcomes as depression interference with social activities and health difficulties. That is providing care is stressful for caregivers because the demands of the caregiving situation threaten to overwhelm the caregivers' coping resources. Therfore the families with demented elderly persons need assistances in order to alleviated burden of caregiving, In this study the educational program was designed to increase caregivers' confidence in problem-solving, And it was designed to provided information to demented elderly. The educational program of this study was given 5 session. And it was included the understanding of dementia the family caregiving experiences of the demented elderly persons the time for elf-care the search for helping the improving of interpersonal relations and communications.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.260-269
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• 2005

Purpose: This study were to understand the caregiving situation of families with the demented elderly and to develop a self-help program for them. Method: A self-help program was designed to increase caregivers' confidence and skills in problem solving. In addition, it was designed to provide information about the demented elderly. The self-help program of this study was composed of nine sessions. Result: Family caregivers of elderly patients with dementia obviously experience high level of stress. which often leads the caregivers to negative outcomes such as depression, interference with social activities and health difficulties. That is, caring is stressful for caregivers because the demands of the caregiving situation tend to overwhelm the caregivers' coping resources. Therefore, families with demented elderly persons need assistances in order to be relieved from their care burden. Conclusion: The self-help program includes the understanding of dementia, the family caregiving experiences of the demented elderly persons, the time for self-care, the search for helping, the improving of interpersonal relations and communications.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.1-12
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• 2002

This study aimed to examine the needs for the planning of group homes for the elderly with dementia in lower income class, who have more economic burden on the caring the demented aged. The survey was conducted by questionnaires collected from 300 respondents from December 2000 to March 2001. Methods of analysis were frequency distribution, mean and chi-square test. The results of this study were as follows: 1) The respondents perceived that the responsibility to take care of the elderly with dementia belonged to their family, not to society or the government, and the sons and daughters had to share the burden placed on care-givers. 2) The awareness of group homes for dementia was relatively low. 3) The respondents' needs for the group homes with dementia could be summarized as follows; small scale plan with homelike atmosphere, a total of 6-8 residents, structural type of detached house or three-storied town house, 2-3 persons per individual room, and management system by non-profit organization or the government. There were no big differences between the respondents of this study and upper and middle class studies conducted by other research, except for some details. Referring to results of this study, it is asserted that group homes for the elderly with dementia would be embraced throughout the country if poetical assistance combined with economic support were provided.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Health Science
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.816-824
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• 2017

Purpose. This study was classified into normal and demented elderly through K-MMSE. The purpose of this study was to analyze gait characteristics of normal elderly and demented peoples using GAITRite walking system. Methods. The subjects of this study were selected as elderly people receiving home visit physical therapy. An independent t-test was conducted to verify the statistical significance of the time-space variables of the elderly with dementia. Results. Step time(p=0.041), cycle time(p=0.037), distance(p=0.024), and cadence(p=0.048) were significantly shorter in the normal elderly than in the demented elderly on flat place. The mean age was significantly longer in normal elderly than in elderly persons with dementia. Step time(p=0.022), cycle time(p=0.023), distance(p=0.019), and cadence(p=0.015) were significantly shorter in the mat walking. The mean age was significantly longer in normal elderly than in elderly patients with dementia. Stretch time, cycle time, distance, and hair support time were significantly shorter in the mat walking. The mean age of the elderly was significantly longer than that of the elderly with dementia. The spinal support time, which is a spatial variable, was significantly shorter in the normal elderly than in the demented elderly. Conclusions. It compares the various gait characteristics of the normal and demented elderly people, thereby increasing the walking ability of the elderly person more effectively. This study should be utilized as basic data for preventing fall-down.

• International Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.39-55
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• 2001

Concerns about paid-facilities for the elderly with dementia from middle and upper class families have been discussed lately in Korea. Small-scale, home-like group homes for the elderly with dementia were developed in Sweden in the 1980, but they have not been effectively introduced in Korea where they remain a comparatively new concept. The group home, however, would provide a good alternative to Koreans who feel guilty when they have to leave their frail parents in large-scale facilities or hospitals instead of caring for them at home. The aim of this paper is, first, to define the care of the demented elderly who come from upper and middle class families in Korea and, secondly, to discuss the need for group homes to help care for them. A survey was done by questionnaire and was answered by 577 respondents who belonged to middle and upper class families living in Korea in December 2000. Methods of analysis were frequency, mean, and Chi-square. The results of this study were as follows: 1) the traditional notion that the eldest son should be burdened with the primary responsibility for a demented parent has weakened remarkably; 2) a small-scale long-term care facility was considered the most desirable living environment for the demented elderly; 3) the facilities families needed for professional hospitals for victims of dementia, senior citizen centers, large and small-scale long-term care facilities, day-care centers, and short-stay and service housing. The study also revealed that there was low awareness of the group home. The most preferred type of structure for group homes was a single-family detached house, and the most preferred management system was small-scale that could create home-like atmosphere. Additionally the respondents wanted group homes to consist of 6-8 residents with 2-4 persons per room. The results of this study strongly suggest that policy makers should encourage the development of smallscale group homes as an alternative form of housing for the elderly with dementia.

• Journal of the Korean housing association
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.15-24
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• 2006

The purpose of this study is to unveil the characteristics of residential space organizations in dementia units. Observation, interview, and drawing analysis of the sample units were used to collect the data for new dementia unit plans. The findings revealed the lack of minimum requirement of residential spaces per person in some sample units, the necessity of consideration of group units, and the change of units based plans to each floor based plans. However, insufficient recreation rooms and the lack of caregivers' resting spaces in the sample units were uncovered. Thus, various recreation rooms such as a reading room, flower room, pottery room, bakery room, or game room should be provided in the sample units. The conclusion is that asylum oriented residential types should be changed to each floor based units having privacy and high satisfaction of residential life. The study of floor oriented residential units focusing on minimum spaces of the floor, space numbers, number of elderly persons on each floor should be studied in the near future.

• IEMEK Journal of Embedded Systems and Applications
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.109-117
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• 2015

In this paper, we have developed smart-phone App(application) for screening Dementia using bionic sensors, urine test and questionnaire. Since small amounts of urinary protein strongly predict faster cognitive decline in the elderly, smart-phone based urinalysis is adopted to screen dementia more accurately as well as bionic sensors such as $SpO_2$ and HRV(Heart Rate Variability). Firstly, DI(Dementia Index) is calculated from urinalysis, two bionic sensors and electric questionnaire, and then compared to the threshold from clinical test. Finally the results of Dementia screening is shown in your smart-phone and useful information to prevent or relieve Dementia is also given. We performed simple testing on persons aged over 60 and found out the proposed application can be useful devices for screening Dementia easily and quickly.