• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.841-855
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• 2009

The main objective of this study is to examine the situations of group-homes for the elderly and clarify the problems of them. This study investigates the present conditions of welfare facilities and supply conditions. 4 group-homes were surveyed in Jeonju and Kwangju cities. Data was collected through various ways including the survey conducted by facility operators, the measurement of living space, and photo-takings. The major results of this study are as follows: 1) With the introduction of nursing care insurance in 2008, the increase of the demand and supply to group-home will be expected, due to less cost for recuperation. The care of elderly in homelike atmosphere is effective to the elderly suffering from dementia. Therefore, it is proper that the supply of group-homes for dementia will be needed. 2) Group-homes for the elderly are being supplied under the standards of welfare facilities in the present. Separate supply standards, however, are needed because they are not suitable for small scale group-homes. 3) To supply Group-homes for the elderly on a one-unit basis would cause various problems such as economical unreality, personnel distribution and so on. It is necessary to supply more than two units for more efficient management. 4) The management of group-homes for the elderly is financially unstable because the operating funds heavily depend on the users or people who are connected with the facilities through private networks. Therefore, additional support is needed to settle the financial problem. It would be helpful to build the public networking that provides information about the group-home for the elderly for the public. 5) In case of the increase in the supply of the group-home in a residential area, it could be helpful to promote the group-home to the public. 6) The operators state that the main problems of group homes for the elderly lie in financial difficulties and the shortage of professionals and volunteers. The financial, personnel, and material support for personnel and the supervision of management are required for the transparency and effectiveness of the facility management. In addition, the closer network and cooperation system with the community is required. 7) The present living environments for group-homes for the elderly leave much room for improvement, considering the physical condition of the elderly. The more careful selections in the color, shape, material, and equipment of the facilities should be made for the convenience of the elderly users.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.454-464
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• 2018

Crosstalk between G-protein signaling and glutamatergic transmission within the brain reward circuits is critical for long-term emotional effects (depression and anxiety), cravings, and negative withdrawal symptoms associated with opioid addiction. A previous study showed that Regulator of G-protein signaling 4 (RGS4) may be implicated in opiate action in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). However, the mechanism of the NAc-specific RGS4 actions that induce the behavioral responses to opiates remains largely unknown. The present study used a short hairpin RNA (shRNA)-mediated knock-down of RGS4 in the NAc of the mouse brain to investigate the relationship between the activation of ionotropic glutamate receptors and RGS4 in the NAc during morphine reward. Additionally, the shRNA-mediated RGS4 knock-down was implemented in NAc/striatal primary-cultured neurons to investigate the role that striatal neurons have in the morphine-induced activation of ionotropic glutamate receptors. The results of this study show that the NAc-specific knock-down of RGS4 significantly increased the behaviors associated with morphine and did so by phosphorylation of the GluR1 (Ser831) and NR2A (Tyr1325) glutamate receptors in the NAc. Furthermore, the knock-down of RGS4 enhanced the phosphorylation of the GluR1 and NR2A glutamate receptors in the primary NAc/striatal neurons during spontaneous morphine withdrawal. These findings show a novel molecular mechanism of RGS4 in glutamatergic transmission that underlies the negative symptoms associated with morphine administration.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.16 no.12
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• pp.427-440
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• 2018

This study was a descriptive correlation investigation that assessed the caring burden of caregivers who care for dementia and examined the effects of the burden on the somatic symptoms and health perception. The subjects were 174 caregivers and data collection was conducted from April 1 to 30, 2018. The data were analyzed t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and multiple regression analysis. A Scheffe test was used for post-analysis. The caring burden and somatic symptoms were found to be mid-high and moderate, respectively. The health was perceived to be not good, and the subjective awareness of well-being appeared to be low. The caring burden showed a positive correlation with the somatic symptoms(r=.157, p<.05), and the somatic symptoms showed a positive correlation with the perceived health(r=.220, p<.01). As a result of the study, caregiving burden of caregivers showed the factors influencing their physical and mental health status, it is suggested to carry out research to find out whether there is a difference in burden of care according to the working place of caregiver. In addition, it is necessary to develop a tool to measure the burden of caregivers and to carry out repeated research.

• 한국노년학
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.1591-1609
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• 2009

Adult child caregivers and spousal caregivers might deal with differential challenges. Studies about caregivers' psychological outcomes, however, tended to investigate associations between caregiving and its outcomes by pooling adult child caregivers and spousal caregivers together. By using a U. S. sample of family caregivers who assisted a relative with dementia, this study examined whether the relationship of caregivers to care receivers (daughter caregivers or spousal caregivers) made a difference in levels of depressive symptoms. The result showed that wife caregivers were more likely to be depressed than daughter caregivers. For daughter caregivers, role overload, role captivity, and behavior problems significantly influenced on depression. Besides these variables, the level of education was a significant predictor for wife caregivers. Role captivity and behavior problems significantly impacted on depression for husband caregivers. Thus, role captivity and behavioral problems were common predictors for all the caregivers. Specifically, higher levels of role captivity and behavioral problems were likely to make caregivers more depressed. The implication of these results were discussed.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.76-89
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to analyze factors affecting a grade maintenance of long-term care service users. Using 2008-2014 long-term care raw data of National Health Insurance Service(NHIS), the predictors were examined through the logistic regression by long-term care beneficiaries of grade. The results showed that there are differences by 3 factor groups and grade groups(1-3 grade). In socio-demographic factors, in the 1, 3 grade, Individuals 64 or younger presented a much higher probabilities of the grade maintenance than those 85 and over. In the 3 grade, people of living alone, resident of rural area presented a much higher probabilities of the grade maintenance than others. In disease factors, In the 1 grade, people with dementia presented a much higher probabilities of the grade maintenance than other 2, 3grades. In the 2 grade, people with stroke, fracture presented a much higher probabilities of the grade maintenance than others. In the 3 grade, people with cancer presented a much higher probabilities of the grade maintenance than others. In service factors, In the 2, 3grade, people having more renewal numbers presented a much higher probabilities of the grade maintenance than others. In the 1 grade, people who use facility benefits for more days presented a much higher probabilities of the grade maintenance than others. In the 2 grade, people who use in-home benefits for more days presented a much higher probabilities of the grade maintenance than others. Based on the finding of study, implications and future research directions were discussed for policy considerations.

• 한국노년학
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.831-848
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• 2011

The purpose of this study is to analyse the family caregivers' stress pathways by types of long term care services for the elderly, and then to discuss the findings of analysis. For this research, primary caregivers that provide care the elderly requiring long term care services sanctioned by National Health Insurance Corporation were drawn and surveyed. Among collected data, data for 258 primary caregivers by type of long term care services were used for this study. The results of this study can be summarized as follows. First, on average, the elders that utilize care service in institutions for the elderly were higher proportion of women, older, higher rate of bereavement, more children than the elders that utilize in-home care service, but some cases were vice-versa. Second, the elders that utilize care service in institutions more ADL dependency, higher proportion of severe dementia or severe stroke, higher care rank by National Health Insurance Corporation than the elders that utilize in-home care service on average. Third, primary caregivers with elders that utilize in-home care service were higher proportion of women, older, lower education level, higher rate of spouse and daughter-in-law in relationship with care recipient, less health, lower income than primary caregivers with elders that utilize care service in institutions. Fourth, subjective indicators representing caregivers' reactions to caregiving for the elderly significantly impact on caregivers' stress(ie, depression), and pathway of caregivers' stress are differentiated by type of long term care services. Fifth, stressors that have direct impacts on depression as caregiving family are differentiated by type of long term care services. Therefore, policies or programs to reduce negative mental health or stress of caregivig families should be designed differently by reflecting pathway of various stressors and stress by use types of long term care services for the elderly.

• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.23-34
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• 2020

Objective : Recently, the demand for wearable mobile devices for the monitoring and improvement of one's health and quality of life is increasing. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to analyze the need of potential users in order to develop mobile health based and lifestyle care application for the elderly. Methods : Participants who lived in their community and used a mobile phone were recruited. Finally, a total of 84 participants completed the survey. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and a t-test, which was carried out with SPSS version 25.0. Results : The application functions that users deemed important for a lifestyle care app were the number of daily steps, physical activity, blood pressure, sleep, nutrition and participation in activity. Interestingly, there was a significant difference in the importance given to the app function of participation in activities between age groups. Conclusion : This study investigated the need and preferences of potential users of health and lifestyle care application for the promotion of health among the elderly. The, findings obtained from this study could be a valuable resource for the development of lifestyle care application.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.200-217
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• 2016

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess energy and nutritional intake and investigate the preference for food and cooking methods of the residents in elderly care facilities. Methods: Data were collected from 72 residents (10 males and 62 females) aged ${\geq}70$ years in elderly care facilities using questionnaires, food photographs for estimating dietary intake and records for daily physical activity. Results: Average age of the study participants was 85.0 years and 41, 36 and 8 had dementia, hypertension and diabetes mellitus, respectively. 15%, 65% and 19% of subjects were physically mobile, enervated, and immobile, respectively. Daily energy intake was 1360.2 kcal in men and 1378.0 kcal in women, which were 68.0% and 86.1% of the estimated energy requirement (EER) of dietary reference intake for Koreans (KDRI) for ${\geq}75$ year old individuals, respectively. Estimated energy expenditure (EEE) of subjects calculated using formula from KDRI was 1361.9 kcal and EER calculated using estimated daily physical activity (EDPA) was 1232.9 kcal. Energy intake and EEE from KDRI were higher than EER from EDPA. Dietary intake of dietary fiber, calcium, potassium, zinc, vitamin $B_2$, niacin, vitamin C were lower, and protein, phosphorous, iron, sodium, vitamin A, vitamin $B_1$, vitamin $B_6$, vitamin E were higher than the corresponding ones of KDRI. Subjects liked meats, fishes and shellfish, and fruits, while subjects disliked milk, seaweeds and salted fish and salted vegetables. Cooked rice, soybean paste soup, beef, cooked sliced radish strip, and yogurt were favorite foods, with steam being a favorite cooking method. Subjects considered nutrition as the most important factor for improving food service quality. Conclusions: Results of this study could be utilized for improving food-service for the residents in elderly care facilities, and provide a basis for setting reference intake of energy and nutrients of the elderly having very low activity levels.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.511-523
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• 2022

This study was conducted using non-face-to-face care technology for the elderly with mild dementia and the physically weak living in the community, as various methods of care for the elderly have been raised due to the prolonged COVID-19. The purpose of this study is a similar experimental study before and after the inequality control group to compare cognitive function, daily living activities, and the degree of depression by applying an AI robot integrated management program using. The data was collected from June 4 to September 17, 2021, and the survey results of 17 people in the experimental group and 18 in the control group were analyzed using the SPSS 25.0 program. As a result of the study, the experimental group was significant in language function, activities of daily living, and depression. In particular, the results showed a decrease in moderate to severe depression and mild depression. Cognitive function was significant with long-term care grade and daily living activity with family living together. Therefore, if such non-face-to-face care technology is introduced to the elderly care field in the 'With Corona era', it is thought that it will contribute to cognitive function training and depression reduction of the elderly.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Rural Architecture
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.95-102
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• 2013

Recently (2010), South Korea's aging rate is 11%. and expected to be 32.3% in 2040, and Japan's aging rate in 2010 is 23%, and in 2040 is expected to be 34.5%. As aging progresses, it is increasing with the elderly person with dementia. However, elderly welfare facilities are insufficient. To take care stability of elderly people with mental and physical disabilities, we need to prepare a lot of welfare facilities for the elderly. Whenever physical conditions and service needs change of the disability elderly, Elderly are forced to move to the other facility. They move from familiar places, beloved local base to unfamiliar places. They are under a lot of stress in order to adapt to new environment. This research is to check out the possibility of the systems and the effectiveness of various services and the flexibility of management in Japan. Takurosyo is responsible for a variety function of elderly medical welfare facilities. Within a short time, our country, has entered into a super-aged society, elderly health and welfare facilities are needed. However, because it requires enormous financial, it is difficult to build a new building in reality, However, if remodeling existing buildings, We can build many low-cost small-scale multi-functional welfare facilities such as the takurosyo. Such that facility would be available to us.