• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
• /
• v.20 no.3
• /
• pp.7-15
• /
• 2014

Purpose: This study is to propose direction for healing environment design in hospital architecture considering the characteristics of elderly patients. The primary goal of a public hospital is providing cheap health care and quality service chance to the underprivileged and elderly in the dead zone. Compared to the rapid increase of the aged population and chronic diseases, Ministry of Health & Welfare is currently planning model of health promotion hospital in development plans of local based public hospital. Due to the increased elderly medical expenses, elderly patients' high utilization is considered. Methods: The literature on the design factors of healing environments were investigated. based on this, analyzed drawings of surveyed hospitals ward in architectural characteristics and observe and evaluate directly healing environment design through field surveys. Results: The design of hospital environment affects patient's therapeutic effect. There is no any official formula for hospital design but environment that architect create could be a big part of the healing process. To increase the quality of the environment, apply the characteristic factors and harmonize well as a human-centered healing environment. Implications: Healing environment design for the elderly is first necessary condition due to high proportion of elderly patients.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.83 no.3
• /
• pp.242-247
• /
• 2020

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the long-term survival rates of very elderly (age ≥80) critically ill patients admitted to a medical intensive care unit (MICU) at a regional tertiary-care hospital in Korea. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data from patients who survived after discharged from the MICU of our hospital. Survival rates at 90 days, 1 year, 2 years, and 3 years were assessed between patients age ≥80 and those age <80. Survival status was evaluated using the National Health Insurance Service data. Results: A total of 468 patients were admitted, 286 (179 males, 97 females; mean age, 70.18±13.2) of whom survived and were discharged soon after their treatment. Among these patients, 69 (24.1%) were age ≥80 and 217 (75.9%) were age <80. The 90-day, 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year survival rates of patients age ≥80 were significantly lower than those in patients age <80 (50.7%, 31.9%, 15.9% and 14.5% vs. 68.3%, 54.4%, 45.6%, and 40.1%, respectively) (p<0.01). The Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed significantly lower survival rates in patients age ≥80 than in those age <80 (p=0.001). Conclusion: The poor rates of long-term survival in very elderly (age ≥80) and critically ill patients admitted to an ICU should be considered while managing and treating them.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.139-148
• /
• 2015

Purpose: This study was done to examine the effects of meatal care with essential oil on meatal E-coli and pH of inpatients in geriatric hospital. Methods: The participants were 40 patients admitted to J geriatric hospital in G city, Korea. Twenty patients were assigned to the experimental group and 20 to the control group. Participants in the experimental group received meatal care with essential oil (application of essential oil mixture consisting of lavender, tea tree, and frankincense). The control group received meatal care with saline. The meatal care was performed twice daily for one week in both groups. The scores for meatal odor, meatal pH and bacterial count for E-coli were measured before and after the treatment. Results: The score for meatal odor were significantly lower in the experimental group compared to the control group. The meatal pH and bacterial count for E-coli significantly decreased in the experimental group compared to the control group. Conclusion: Findings indicate that meatal care with essential oil is an effective nursing intervention to reduce meatal odor, meatal pH and bacterial count for E-coli for elderly women inpatients in geriatric hospitals.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
• /
• v.33 no.2
• /
• pp.275-283
• /
• 2003

Purpose: This study was to classify elderly in long-term care hospitals for using Resource Utilization Group(RUG-III) and to consider feasibility of payment method based on RUG-III classification system in Korea. Method: This study designed by measuring resident characteristics using the Resident Assessment Instrument-Minimum Data Set(RAI-MDS) and staff time. The data were collected from 382 elderly over sixty-year old, inpatient in the five long-term care hospitals. Staff time was converted into standard time based on the average wage of nurse and aids. Result: The subjects were classified into 4 groups. The group of Clinically Complex was the largest(46.3%), Reduced Physical Function(27.2%), Behavior Problem(17.0%), and Impaired Cognition(9.4%). The average resource use for one resident in terms of care time(nurses, aids) was 183.7 minutes a day. Relative resource use was expressed as a case mix index(CMI) calculated as a proportion of mean resource use. The CMI of Clinically Complex group was the largest(1.10), and then Reduced Physical Function(0.93), Behavior Problem(0.93), and Impaired Cognition(0.83) followed. The difference of the resource use showed statistical significance between major groups(p<0.0001). Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the RUG-III classification system differentiates resources provided to elderly in long-term care hospitals in Korea.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
• /
• v.15 no.2
• /
• pp.376-386
• /
• 2001

I. Background The problem of discharging patients from hospital have been well documented in the literature over the last 20 years. They included poor communication between hospital and community, inadequate notice of discharge, over-reliance on informal support and lack of statutory support, inattention to patients needs before leaving hospital, and wasted or duplicated visits by community nurses. Most patients discharged from hospital are able to return home with little or no support, while others will require a 'package of care' to support them back to good health. Patient with complex care needs, including the frail elderly and those with mental health problems, may require continuing care in special housing, residential, or nursing homes. With this population,effective discharge arrangement is needed and the study on this problem is urgent in Korea because the Medical Reform Project is on suspension of success. II. Results of the Study: 1. Discharge service needs assessed on 360 elderly patients who were hospitalized during the survey period at four university hospitals. Patients want to know the information on disease management after discharge. Follow-up telephone service is the most frequently checked service. 2. Multidisciplinary Discharge Planning is recommended at the hospital level to reduce the readmission and decrease the length of stay. 3. Further research is needed to validate and test the assumption of the solution which is developed in this research.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
• /
• v.10 no.1
• /
• pp.5-18
• /
• 1999

The aim of this study is the development of a fee - based model day care center for the elderly by inquiring into the current condition of facilities in America and in Korea, and in surveying the opinion of domestic elderly about day care facilities. A field trip to U.S. day care services was held between July 5 and July 15 in 1997, and an on-the-spot study for domestic facilities took place during March in 1998. Our research reveals that the overall supply of day care facilities can not meet future demand in terms of quality and quantity. Therefore a model must be created for day care centers of a that consists of a director from a professional group. an adequate environment, and a standardized in order to offer a qualified public health service linked to the home and community in Korea. The director of a day care center is a critical variable in determining the quality of service. Professional skills related to the needs of the elderly and the person's quality of service should be considered in appointing director for the center. This study belleves that a professional nurse should be the director of a day care center. The operating environment of a day care facility should be made up of considerable space comparable to the number of residents, should be in a comfortable and safe location, and should have equipment that provides a qualified, safe service to the elderly. Our model is designed for 20 persons and allocates 4 Peng per person. This model is comprised of a reading room. a craft room, a health room, a room for physical therapy, a dining room, a staff office, and a multi -purpose room connected to other rooms. Day care service should be a comprehensive service program meeting the multidimensional needs of the elderly. A comprehensive service program needs a team of various professionals made up of the elderly family, participants, nurses, social workers, physical therapists, nutritionists, and medical doctors. The program will also include health care service, physical therapy, speech therapy. diet, occupational therapy, transportation service, health and an education program, etc. In conclusion, a model of a day care center is developed with the following components: a professional director and an environment and program, that considers the physical, mental, and social characteristics of the elderly. A model should also motivate self-reliance self-fulfillment in the elderly in order to fulfill their health needs and to prevent isolation from society and mental depression. Furthermore, This facility will be a beneficial factor in reducing a family's burden on caring for the elderly that includes unnecessary hospital expenses. The following is a suggestion based on results this study: A service program should be developed to fit the conditions of the elderly in Korea by specifically analyzing the needs of the elderly.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.14-24
• /
• 2020

Purposes: The purpose of this study is to analyze the factor of affecting on job satisfaction by mediating attitude of care service. Methodology: (1)Identify socio-demographic characteristics, work characteristics, the elderly support period, the presence of education related to the elderly, the presence of service associated with the elderly, and significant factors of the research subjects. (2)Identify changes in the number of education and services before and after obtaining a caregiver qualification. (3)Identify the attitude of providing care services and job satisfaction according to the characteristics of the research subjects. (4)Identify the direct and indirect factors influencing job satisfaction by mediating the service attitudes of the research subjects. Findings: First, age factors have positive effects and the volunteering experience have negative effects on job satisfaction by mediating attitude of care service. Although the number of education class has increased after qualification, educational factors had no significant effect. Second, the longer elderly support period had a positive effect on job satisfaction. Practical Implications: This study is meaningful in that it identifies the direct and indirect impacts on job satisfaction through care attitudes. In the future, it will be necessary to pay attention to improving the quality of long-term care services by analyzing the influence factors more.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.29 no.4
• /
• pp.445-453
• /
• 2019

Background: This study is to investigate the association between the distribution of multimorbidity and length of stay and medical expenses among inpatients in a municipal hospital to achieve an integrated care setting. Methods: We used the exploratory factor analysis and the generalized estimating equation model to analyze the data from patients living in the northeast region of Seoul, who were hospitalized from January 2017 to December 2017 in a municipal hospital. Results: As a result of the factor analysis, seven types of multiple chronic diseases were classified. Among the elderly patients admitted to municipal hospitals, the burden of medical expenses was mainly influenced by the length of stay (B=310,719, p-value <0.0001), not the type of disease (all not significant). Length of stay were mainly due to psychiatric illness (factor 1: B=4.323, p-value <0.0001) related to the brain and metabolic diseases (factor 2: B=2.364, p-value=0.003). Conclusion: This study showed that the medical expenses of the elderly patients were largely due to prolonged hospitalization, not multimorbidity. Therefore, it is necessary to develop an integrated care paradigm strategy cope with the multimorbidity of the elderly in the community and to alleviate the socio-economic burden.

• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
• /
• v.10 no.10
• /
• pp.253-258
• /
• 2020

This study analyzed, the characteristics of ambulatory care sensitive conditions(ACSCs) in patients visiting emergency departments(EDs) and compared characteristics according to two age groups (adults aged 19-64 years and, elderly people aged ≥65 years). By accessing data from the National Emergency Department Information System(NEDIS) from January 1 to December 31, 2018, we examined the proportions of different ED types and ACSCs, length of stay(LOS) in the ED, LOS hospital, and hospital admission rates. Regarding the types of EDs, we found that the proportion of local emergency medical centers was high(P<0.001). Regarding the rates of different ACSCs, 31.7% of adults were treated for gastroenteritis, a high proportion of the elderly people(48.2%) were diagnosed with and treated for pneumonia(P<0.001). The LOS in the ED was longer in elderly people for all diseases categories, except for congestive heart failure and diabetes(P<0.001). The LOS in the hospital was also significantly longer in elderly people for all ACSCs(P<0.05), and the admission rate was significantly higher in elderly people for all diseases, except for diabetes(P<0.01). Thus, analyzing the ED visits made by patients with ACSCs will need to strengthen the health-care policy to induce treatment centered on outpatient.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
• /
• v.20 no.2
• /
• pp.261-268
• /
• 2022

Recently, the number of elderly living alone suffering from loneliness and depression is also increasing significantly due to the rapid aging of the population and nuclear families. In this paper, we propose a smart aging system that increases life satisfaction by providing the elderly with the optimal service tailored to the elderly with the help of IT according to their residential environment and health status. It is possible to provide an advanced customized support system for the elderly by fully utilizing IoT, AI, and Metaverse techniques not only for the elderly who want to live an active life in society but also for the elderly who need care in a nursing hospital. The proposed system provides human satisfaction by providing social connection in real space and virtual space in accordance with the residential environment and health status to the elderly suffering from loneliness in hospital (hospital care) facilities and at home. This paper proposes a new path for future-oriented welfare policy for the elderly by providing a user-customized smart aging system by combining AI and Metaverse technology with a rapidly changing social environment.