• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.587-594
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• 2014

This study was carried out to look into the cognitive function of the elderly in community and investigate the factors affecting their cognitive decline provide preliminary data so as to help develop a program to maintain and promote cognitive function. With 481 senior citizens aged over 65 in J. city, a survey was conducted on their demographic characteristics, health-related characteristics and depression using structured questionnaires from September 1 through 7, 2011. The collected data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, Chi-square test and logistic regression analysis using IBM SPSS Statistics V. 20. As a result of this study, 40.1% of the subjects showed cognitive decline and the factors related to their cognitive decline turned out to be the level of education (p<.001), age (p=.000), depression and exercise (p<.05). Therefore, intervention programs on depression or exercise should be implemented intensively and in particular, various programs and educations should be provided considering individual differences according to the level of education and age.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.12 no.12
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• pp.647-660
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• 2012

Korea in the era of population aging has a limitation on the welfare policy that treats the elderly as a weak person. Plans of supportive structure and maintenances of institution that can reanimate vitality of the healthy or motivated seniors in our society are very important to society that ageing is ongoing. When health and economic situation of the elderly has been weakened, our country needs to review and remake the social system or environment which helps to activate seniors` abilities and be able to become independent life through maintenance of seniors`participation structure. In this study, I will research the necessity of active support and suggest the improvement ways of legal system; not only focusing on living supports that treats unconditionally the elderly as weak person.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.505-512
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• 2020

This study is done to provide basic data on the effective operation of the new policies by examining the satisfaction level of the elderly with dementia visiting dementia care centers located in 25 autonomous districts of S city. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to 217 elderly with dementia who visited the above dementia care center from July 1 to September 30, 2019. The satisfaction tool is a chart score scale that displays negative-positive expressions at both ends of a straight line. The result shows that satisfaction level is significantly higher in the group with trust in the visiting institutions than in the group with distrust (t=9.74, p<.001), higher in cognitive impairment group than in dementia group (t=0.13, p=.034), and higher in mild depression group than in more severe depression group (t=2.31, p=.022). Satisfaction ratios analyzed by logistic regression shows significant differences in factors like gender, age, education, and walking pattern. In conclusion, it is important to run health support programs that consider user characteristics to improve the satisfaction of newly introduced dementia care centers.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.41-51
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• 2020

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of oral health behaviors of patients with hypertension and diabetic patients on the number of remaining teeth in Korean adults over 45 years of age, furthermore, we also aimed to develop oral health care programs and health promotion for patients with hypertension and diabetes. Methods: Altogether, 1,526 subjects with hypertension and diabetes from the 6th Korean National Health and Nutrition Survey (2013-2015) were analyzed. Results: A multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the effects of oral health behavior and periodontal disease on residual teeth in patients with hypertension and diabetes after adjusting for age. We found 1.53 times the risk of having less than 20 remaining teeth in the group of brushing more than 3 times a day (95% CI: 1.00,2.35, p<0.001), 2.27 times (95% CI: 1.23-4.17, p<0.05) in the group not using the dental floss group 0.05), compared to the group undergoing regular dental check-up (95% CI: 0.93-1.85, p>0.05), compared to the non-smoking group 0.77 times (95% CI: 0.51-1.14, p>0.05), 1.33 times (95% CI: 0.98-1.80, p>0.05) in the drinking group compared to the non-drinking group, in the periodontal disease group, the risk of having less than 20 remaining teeth was 2.19 times higher (95% CI: 1.48-3.24, p>0.001) than in the normal group. Conclusions: As a super-aging society, develops in Korea, the prevalence of hypertension and diabetes will increase gradually. Therefore, an oral health policy should be implemented at the national level for the prevention and treatment of periodontal disease as well as the management of oral health the elderly.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.409-421
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• 2013

Purpose: This qualitative study was designed to explore and describe the nursing staff reported experiences of managing the medical needs of nursing home residents in South Korea. Methods: Using a focus group interview method, qualitative data were collected from March to May 2012. Twenty five registered nurses and nurse aids working in nursing homes were recruited through a convenient sampling method. Participants participated in one of four focus group interviews lasted up to two hours in which their day-to-day experiences of taking care of the medical needs of the elderly residents. All interviews were recorded and transcribed in verbatim, and analyzed according to the qualitative thematic analysis method using MAXQDA software. Results: The overriding theme was 'experiencing differences between the requirements of the regulatory system and the actual reality of the work place.' The findings of differences between what were true and what is required was based in four subcategories. The nursing home residents had far more medical needs than what were reported. Another finding was that the family members were seen as non-supportive and negligent towards the residents. Conclusion: The findings of the study support the need for changes in the regulatory system. The regulatory limitations of current system with a shortage of resources pushed the participants to experience discrepancies between the required regulation and the reality. Additional research could contribute more exemplars to support changes.

• Journal of Home Health Care Nursing
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.117-135
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• 2005

Purpose: Expecting a new system of nursing security for elderly in operation in 2007, a substantial expansion of nursing facilities for elderly and quality management of those facilities are imperative now. Therefore. specific quality management measures or schemes which could be used for the operation of small-scale nursing homes are in urgent need. The purpose of this study was to develop a Quality Management Index(QMI) to guide Nursing Home management. Method: This study developed a QMI for small-scale nursing homes, which focused on quality management in structural dimensions such as environment, staffs, local community network, atmosphere, and quality management in process dimensions such as nursing, communication, resident satisfaction. The QMI developed in this study is based on extensive review of literature and the actual experiences of nursing home operation. It consists of 7 dimensions, 39 components and 148 indexes, which have been verified by three times validity tests of experts group. Then the QMI was used to evaluate the quality management levels of nursing homes in Korea. Result: In sum, after analyzing all nursing homes in Korea operated by nurses, this study found that there were significant differences of quality management level among facilities in several dimensions such as environment, staffs, local community connections, communication. In dimensions such as nursing, atmosphere, resident satisfaction, however, little differences of quality management level among facilities were reported. It is considered that this result has to do with several factors like the size of facilities, operation expenses, operation forms, the disposition of professional human resources, and philosophy and management policy of the owners. As far as generalization is concerned, however, it needs to be noted here that the sample size for this study is not statistically big enough to generalize the results. Conclusion: Having Developed a QMI for small-scale nursing home with 7 dimensions, 39 components and 148 indexes, this study is expected to be used in developing more elaborated quality evaluation tools for nursing homes, and also function as a practical guide of quality management for those who are opening and managing nursing homes. I hope this quality index could lead to further development of a standardized quality management index, and eventually contribute to quality improvement of nursing homes.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.395-403
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• 2021

Objectives: Previous studies have shown that participation in social activities (SA) can prevent cognitive decline (CD) and that living arrangements (LA) can affect cognitive function. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of SA and LA on CD, as well as their interactions, using longitudinal data. Methods: Data were used from the 2006-2018 Korean Longitudinal Study for Aging, which followed 10 254 adults older than 45 years over a 12-year period. CD was defined as a ≥4-point score decrease in the Mini-Mental Status Exam over 2 years. We developed an extended Cox proportional hazards model for time-dependent covariates to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) of CD in 4 groups: (1) socially active and living with others, (2) socially active and living alone, (3) socially inactive and living with others (SILO), and (4) socially inactive and living alone (SILA). The model was stratified by gender and adjusted for important confounders. Results: The HR of CD was significantly higher in the SILO group in men (HR,1.36; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.08 to 1.78) and in the SILA group in women (HR, 1.72; 95% CI, 1.08 to 2.75). However, the interaction term for gender was not significant. Conclusions: Among socially inactive elderly adults, the HR of CD was elevated in men who lived with others and in women who lived alone, although the interaction term for gender was not significant. Socially inactive men who live with others and socially inactive women who live alone are particularly encouraged to participate in SA to prevent CD.

• Journal of the Health Care and Life Science
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.351-360
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• 2023

2018 aged patient dataset (HIRA-APS), 33,821 patients admitted to long-term care hospitals were classified by major disease groups to identify the characteristics of medical use and provide effective policy data. First, it is necessary to operate specialized long-term care hospitals such as dementia, rehabilitation, hospice, and recovery specialization tailored to the characteristics of the patient's disease group. Second, the paralysis group, cerebrovascular disease group, and dementia group were the longest LOS and the cognitive impairment group is the longest by patient classification group, requiring medical demand and quality management for long-term patients. Third, the musculoskeletal disease group was the highest normal discharge, and support for the post-discharge home program is required in paralysis and cerebrovascular disease.

• 한국노년학
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.109-126
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• 2005

Recently it has been encouraged in developed countries that labor force participation of the elderly is one of the means to cut down the cost of social welfare for them. However, empirical studies have rarely explored how work in later life contributes to national economy. Especially, even though 56.6 percent of elderly workers aged 65 and older engaged in agriculture and forestry in Korea, their contribution has been socio-economically overlooked. This study aims at examining the effect of farming labor in later life on social welfare expenditure. For this purpose, social welfare expenditure was defined as social benefits provided for the elderly by the social security in public sector and measured as transportation allowance, pension, livelihood aid, medical aid, and health insurance in 2003. Data were obtained from National Health Insurance Cooperation and 37 town/village offices and analyzed by 3 age groups; 65~74, 75~84, and 85 and over using SPSS/PC windows program. Results showed that both livelihood and medical support in all age groups were expended more to non-farm than to farm workers. The amount differences per person between them were 113,959~361,132 won in livelihood support and 15,644~51,418 won in medical support. Also, participation in farming influence reduction of livelihood expenditure for the group 65~74 and 75~84 and that of medical expenditure only for the group 65~74. Based on these results, it was estimated the amount of social welfare expenditure reduced by farming labor in later life. The limit of this study and the policy implications of the results are discussed.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.341-346
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• 2013

Objectives: This study was designed to provide basic data that would be helpful in planning mental health programs designed to help elderly people have a satisfying life as an elder by identifying the factors that affect cognition of urban and rural elderly people. Methods: Subjects included 160 elderly people on Daejeon and Geumsam. Structured questionnaires were used for data collection from march 2, 2011 to July 30, and descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficients, and hierarchical regression analysis of SPSS 18.0 program were performed for data analysis. Results: A significant difference in cognition was observed between two groups(t=-2.232, p=.029). Cognition & depression didn't have correlation(urban area(r=.021, p=.860), rural area(r=.-131, p=.271)). Significant factors influencing cognition included education(t=4.069, p<.001) and age(t=-2.812, p=.001) in urban area and sex(t=-3.011, p<.001), age(t=-4.866, p<.001), education(t=3.525, p<.001) in rural area. These factors explained 26.1% and 57.2% of the variance. Conclusion: Findings of this study suggest the need for development of appropriate nursing strategies depending on the difference of the environment to increase cognitive function and to decrease the incidence of depression in elderly people.