• Journal of KIBIM
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.21-30
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• 2017

Due to the rapidly aging population, the death rate of elderly people by safety accidents has been increasing. In particular, precautions are needed for falls prevention because they either directly or indirectly cause death. In the case of elderly people, most of the fall accidents occur in dense residential areas, and particularly, the staircase poses a risk of falling. Therefore, a safety assessment should be performed from the design phase. However, in general, staircases are designed using existing stair data or only aims to satisfy the installation criteria. Laws and regulations only define minimum requirements for safety, so it is not possible to prevent fall accidents even if they satisfy the requirements. Therefore, this study proposes a simulation-based method for evaluating the safety of staircases. The behavioral characteristics of the elderly are implemented to an virtual user in a virtual space including staircases, and fall accidents are evaluated by the evaluation logic related to the behavioral characteristics. The result shows that the safety of staircases can be preevaluated and reflected on the design to reduce the possibility of fall accidents of the elderly.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.249-258
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to investigate the different patterns of the lower limb between elderly and adult females to reduce the rate of falls. Ten old females(age: $73.1{\pm}2.69yrs$, height: $151.9{\pm}4.82cm$, mass: $57.36{\pm}5.36$) and ten adult females(age: $28\pm}4.76$ yrs, height: $160.6{\pm}6.83cm$, mass: $53.9{\pm}8.44$) were participated in this experiment. The gait motions were captured with Qualisys system and variables were calculated with Visual-3D. The following results were found. The elderly female group showed bigger inclination angle between COM and COP than the adult female group so that the dynamic stability was reduced in walking for the compensation with a bigger stride width. The elderly female group ensure for the necessary forward movement of COM in order to replace the decreased function of ankle and knee joint. If the distance between COM and COP is closer and the energy reduction of a specific joint is reduced, they could prevent the elderly female's falling rate by strengthening of muscles which were related the extension of ankle joint.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.64-70
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• 2023

Purpose: This study investigated the influence of attention-demanding tasks on gait and measured differences in the temporal, spatial and kinematic characteristics between young healthy adults and elderly healthy adults. Methods: We recruited 16 healthy young adults and 15 healthy elderly adults in this study. All participants performed two cognitive tasks: a subtraction dual-task (SDT) and working memory dual-task (WMDT) during gait plus one normal gait. Using the LEGSys+ system, knee and hip-joint kinematic data during stance and swing phase and spatiotemporal parameter data were assessed in this study. Results: In the elderly adult group, attention-demanding tasks with gait showed a significant decrease in hip-joint motion during the stance phase, compared to the normal gait. Step length, stride length and stride velocity of the elderly adult group were significantly decreased in WMDT gait compared to normal gait (p<0.05). In the young adult group, kinematic data did not show any significant difference. However, stride velocity and cadence during SDT and WMDT gaits were significantly decreased compared to those of normal gait (p<0.05). Conclusion: We determined that attention-demanding tasks during gait in elderly adults can induce decreased hip-joint motion during stance phase and decreased gait speed and stride length to maintain balance and prevent risk of falling. We believe that understanding the changes during gait in older ages, particularly during attention-demanding tasks, would be helpful for intervention strategies and improved risk assessment.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.212-217
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• 2013

Falling is one of the major public problems to the elderly, resulting in limitations of daily living activities. It can be induced by the functional loss of the balance ability and muscle strength in the elderly. It has been, however, not well investigated to suggest an effective methodology improving the balance ability and muscle strength for the prevention of the falling due to lack of information about the characteristics of the balance and muscle activations responded to the dynamic motions. The aim of the current study is, therefore, to identify the characteristics of the balance and muscle activations responded to the dynamic motions in Anterior-Posterior(AP) and Medial Lateral(ML) directions. For that, a motion capture system with eight infrared cameras, surface electromyogram system and Wii Fit system with a customized variable unstable base were used and kinematic and kinetic data obtained from the systems were analyzed for five healthy male($24.8{\pm}3.3years$, $177.4{\pm}2.0cm$, $73.9{\pm}12.9kg$, $23.5{\pm}4.0kg/m$). The results showed that the characteristics of the balance and muscle activations were differently responded to between the dynamic motions in Anterior-Posterior(AP) and Medial Lateral(ML) directions. These findings may indicate that customized dynamic motions should be applied to the training of the balance ability and muscle strength for the effective prevention of the falling. This study may be meaningful to providing basic information to establish a guideline improving effectively the balance ability and muscle strength.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.57 no.11
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• pp.2131-2137
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• 2008

In this paper, COP (center of pressure) during quiet standing and squat-and-stand movement was analyzed to compare the postural control of young and elderly subjects with special interest in the elderly females who were reported to have higher fall rate than the elderly males. Subjects include the young subjects (10 males: $21.8{\pm}2.6yrs$, 10 females: $20.4{\pm}0.3yrs$) and the elderly subjects (8 males: $75.5{\pm}4yrs$, 8 females: $72.3{\pm}3.5yrs$). Analysis parameters were the mean of the distance between the instantaneous COP and the average COP (COP distance) and the mean of the COP movement velocity (COP velocity) in both AP (anterio-posterior) and ML (media-lateral) directions. During quiet standing, the COP distance in ML direction of elderly females was significantly greater than that of elderly males and the COP velocity of elderly females in both ML and AP direction were significantly greater than those of all the other groups. During squat and stand movement, the COP distance of elderly females was not significantly different with that of the elderly males. However, the COP velocity of elderly females was significantly greater than that of all the other groups. The large lateral weight shift (COP distance) of elderly females during quiet standing may explain their greater fall rate. However, this does not apply to squat-and stand movement. In contrast, COP velocity results show that the elderly females' COP is rapidly trembling compared to that of elderly males during both quiet standing and squat and-stand movement. This results suggest that rapid trembling or postural sway may reflect the reduced postural control ability and the risk of falling.

• 한국노년학
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.377-395
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• 2012

This study was conducted to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of Multifactorial Fall Prevention Program (MFPP) for local low-income elderly people on physical·psychological, and home environmental hazards, and falling frequency. The selected elderly people was provided the MFPP during an eight-week period of time, once a week, 70 to 90 minutes per each section. The design of this study was non-equivalent control-group with repeated measuring by quasi-experimental study. Data were collected before treatment, 8 week after treatment and 4 week after retention from July to October, 2010. Data were analyzed with numbers, percentage, Fisher's exact test, x²-test, repeated measures ANOVA, ANCOVA and Logistic regression. There were significant differences in fall frequency, balance, fear of falling, fall efficacy, home environmental hazards between the experimental group (EG) and control group (CG). This study showed that the multifactorial fall prevention program(MFPP) was useful nursing intervention for strengthening physical·psychological and environmental functions of the low-income elderly people, as well as preventing fall.

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.31-39
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• 2009

Population of senior citizens in Korea has been on the increase rapidly through decrease in population by falling birth rate and extension the average life span by development of medical technology and improving people's standard of living. As the booming population of senior citizens, it has appeared to problems of the elderly such as protection, health and supporting and welfare facilities for the elderly have increased there but it leaves something to be desired at plan and improvement of qualitative environment which the elderly's living space. It attaches importance to valuate about nursing homes such as management, quality of service, manufacture of physical environment and so on, so it is required to consider the elderly's emotion on environmental valuation. Healing environment that is a important fact of indoor environment operates powerfully upon the nursing homes as well as general medical facilities. It needs to healing environment for the elderly's physical health and mental stable life, we should know importance of healing environment that affects the elderly's health and life. The elderly have experienced physical, mental, and social changes with advancing years. The people who use the nursing homes are the elderly. We should find fact of healing environment as the elderly's characteristics and have to find healing environment that gives aid to the elderly's health in the nursing homes. In care for the elderly is not house care, it has focused on the elderly's health for improving their life and leading comfortable life.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.277-302
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• 1996

The purpose of this study is to suggest fundamental information about wearing method and production of brassiere, which is suitable for physiological hygiene and efficient action for elderly women. The subject is 418 elderly women aged 50∼69 years old. Data is processed by a computer(SAS) and is analyzed by using frequency, percentage, x²-test. The main results of this study are as follows. 1. Elderly women'weight and breast size are higher thant their younger counterparts'in their 20's, but the older and poorer women with more children have smaller weight and breast. Most of the elderly women feel that their breasts are drooped or falling apart. I fact, those elderly women who gave birth to more children have more drooped and wider breasts. The major type of elderly women'breast is the 'drooped breast' featured more by those elderly women who have more children. 2. Most of the elderly women began to wear the brassiere for the first time in their 20's the older women with more children began to wear the brassiere earlier, while those less educated and poorer began to protect their breasts with brassiere later. Many elderly women wear the brassiere to be protected from dirt, noise or look more neat, but day tend to wear the brassiere not all day around but at certain times, older, less educated and proper women with more children tend to use the brassiere for etiquette and less often. This group of elderly women feel tedious, stage or uncomfortable for the brassiere. 3. Most of the elderly women know about their brassiere size. Such variables as age, education and income are correlated positively with the interest in and consciousness of the brassiere size. All in all, the statistical distribution of elderly women's brassiere size is very wide, while most of them use 90A, 85A and 95A sizes. On the other hand, the most popular size of the under bust circumference is 85∼90cm, while their primary cup size is A.

• Journal of Korean Society of Industrial and Systems Engineering
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.226-232
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• 2015

The aging of Korea is rapidly advancing in an unprecedented rate in the world. Indoor and outdoor safety accidents involving the elderly frequently occur, with elderly population increasing. Because the physical strength of elderly is decreased, it is necessary to develop devices that aid the everyday life of the elderly to prevent safety accidents. Among many activities, the motions of standing from and sitting on a chair require much physical strength from particular body parts, which causes an overload for particular body parts. To the elderly the repeating motion of standing from and sitting down on a chair is burdensome, because they do not have enough physical strength compare to young persons. As a result the elderly could be injured or falling during standing or sitting. Therefore, the development of a lift chair that considers the problems mentioned above is necessary to prevent the safety accidents of the elderly. The study designed a non-motorized lift chair that comfortably aids the standing and sitting down motion for the use of the elderly by reflecting the anthropometric data of the Korean elderly over 65 years old. Also the design was implemented to smoothly aid the standing motion by considering the knee angle of the elderly when standing. Because the regained strength to stand from a chair is depend on the knee angle. Unlike existing lift devices, this device utilizes a tilting mechanism that does not use electric power so that the product could be composed inexpensively than existing chairs released in the market.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.17 no.8
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• pp.267-272
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• 2016

Falling is one of the problems that threatens the health of elderly patients. This study was conducted once a week for 12 weeks, from 15th of April to 13th of June in 2016, and included 118 subjects above the age of 65 in 6 centers of J city. We evaluated the effectiveness of the fall prevention exercise program (FPEP) and analyzed its effects by making a comparison between before and after the exercise that pertains to activities of daily living, fear of falling, and quality of life. Moreover, this study confirms that there is a relationship between these three factors. The results of this study are as follows: There were statistically significant differences of activities of daily living (F=-4.75, p<..001), fear of falling (F=10.22, p<..001) and quality of life (F=-11.58, p<..001) between post-test improvements and pre-test conditions. In addition, this study confirms that there is a relationship between activities of daily living, fear of falling, and quality of life (r=.551, p<..001, r=-.477, p<..001, r=-.584, p<..001). Accordingly, we have identified that FPEP is very effective for improving activities of daily living, fear of falling, and quality of life for senior citizens.