• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.101-114
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• 1995

The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors which influenced the quality of life of elderly women living alone or with the spouse. A survey using interview was administered to 221 elderly women living in Seoul and Pusan The major findings were as follows: 1) The family life satisfaction of elderly women was determined by the quality of relationship with her eldest son's wife shared activities financial strain and location. The determinants of consumer life satisfaction were financial strain materialism tenure and the number of income sources, Housing life satisfaction was influenced by the convenience of neighborhood facilities tenure and housing structure type. 2) The quality of relationship with her eldest son's wife social activities financial strain tenure and the reason for independent household formation explained the variance of the life satisfaction about 29% by using a stepwise multiple regression method.

• Nutritional Sciences
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.146-154
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• 2002

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of household type on the health- and food-related behavior of the elderly. The survey was conducted on 304 free-living elderly persons in Chun-Chon city in 1999. The subjects were divided into three groups by their household types : living alone (n=35), living with their spouses (n=59), and living with their extended family (n=191). The results were obtained by personal interviews using questionnaires. Compared to the group living with their spouses and/or extended families, the elderly living alone were : less satisfied with the amount of monthly pocket money available; less involved in social activities; taking less vitamin supplements; doing less physical exercise; more frequently skipping meals and dining out; less frequently consuming meats, vegetables, fruits and seaweed; and having the highest rate of depression. The elderly living with their spouses tended to have the best physical functions and the greatest ability to carry out basic daily activities. The elderly living with their extended families had a higher incidence of diseases compared to the other groups. The preferred snacks were cookies for the elderly living alone, and fruits for the other two groups. In summary, it has been shown that household type should be taken into consideration for formulating adequate future strategies for effective health and nutrition programs.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.101-106
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• 2017

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the quality of life and stress level of the elderly living alone in their neighborhood volunteers. Methods Data collection was done from July 1 to October 1, 2015 and the data were collected by self-reported questionnaire at Nowon community in Seoul area in South Korea. The subjects were 146 older adults living alone agreed to participate in the study(accepted by IRB). The questionnaire was constructed with quality of life 26 items, 5-point Likert type scale(1-5), stress 15 items, 5-point Likert type. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics. Results Socially isolated older adults had significantly higher scores ($3.7{\pm}.03$) in quality of life, moderate scores ($2.9{\pm}.03$) in stress. Conclusion The peer support undertaken by older community volunteers was effective in improving quality of life in socially isolated older adults. It is necessary to listen to the voice of elderly people living alone through the activation of volunteer groups in the community.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.15 no.9
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• pp.345-354
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to examine mediating effects of social participation and self-esteem on the relationship between subjective health status and life satisfaction in elderly women living alone. To data were analyzed by hierarchical multiple regression analysis as suggested by Baron and Kenny(1986) using SPSS/WIN 21.0. As a results, subjective health status of the elderly women living alone had a positive influence on the social participation, self-esteem, life satisfaction. There was a partial mediating effect of the Social Participation and self-esteem in the relationship. Based on the research result, it is necessary to conduct programs suitable for each elderly Women person's health condition, and integrated social participation support program should be provided.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.615-628
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• 2004

This study is designed to examine influences of living arrangements on psycho-social factors, health and nutritional status, dietary adequacy and meal service utility patterns of the elderly. Nutritional status was evaluated by Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA). Three hundred and nine elderly (110 men and 199 women) who participated in meal service in the Chung-buk province were investigated. Proportion of the elderly living alone, couples only, living with spouse and family, living with family without spouse; and living with other than family were 30.7%, 25.9%, 14.2%, 24.3% and 4.9% respectively. The mean age of the elderly was 74.1 years and the elderly who are living couples only and living with spouse and family were younger than those with other living status. Living arrangements seem to be related to psycho-social factors, health and nutritional status, and dietary quality. Those who live alone and live with other than family were mostly women and they have lower socio-economic status, psycho-social, health and nutritional status and dietary patterns compared with those of the elderly who are living with spouse or family. It was found that the elderly who live a couple only and live with spouse and family had better emotional, health and nutritional index than those of the elderly who live with family without spouse, especially in case of females. Most of elderly perceived that participation of meal service programs had a positive effect on their daily life and satisfied with meals. The elderly living alone and living with other than family were more frequently using meal service but had a negative attitude about the charged meal service for better quality than the elderly with other living status. The most important reason for all the elderly to participate in meal service was to meet their friends and then to get other services. Particularly those who are living alone and living with other than family showed lack of moivation to prepare and set the meal, and for them the economic reason is also important. They also replied that the poor health and lack of other help were the most difficult problems for them to prepare meals. It would be effective to provide nutritional services that meet specific needs of the elderly according to their characteristics and living environment.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.59-73
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• 1999

It is known that the role of informal support for elderly women is critical to their physical and mental health, adjustment in old age, and their overall life satisfaction. Elderly women's situation such as social losses, widowhood, living alone, and geographic relocation etc. may result in a need for more informal supports for elderly women's health than ever before. Particularly, women's same-sex friendships were rated higher for overall quality, intimacy, enjoyment, and nurturance. Unlike a generally accepted notion that later life for women is a time of isolation and loneliness, elderly women tend to maintain and reestablish their friendship regardless their marital status and living situation. Although studies on informal support for elderly women were inconclusive in many ways, elderly women's friendship tends to be stable despite of changing health status and life events. The relative importance between daughters and friends was also controversial. This study suggests that more research with reliable measurements is necessary for the practical prevention and intervention program of elderly women's health on this issue.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.128-140
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• 2021

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop a self-transcendence enhancement program and examine its effect on self-transcendence, spiritual well-being, and psychological well-being in elderly women who live alone. Methods: A self-transcendence enhancement program was developed through theory, literature review, and in-depth interviews. The theoretical framework came from the Psychoeducational Approach to Transcendence and Health intervention model based on Reed's middle-range theory of self-transcendence. The program consisted of multiple modalities in a structured, theory-based program lasting for eight weekly sessions. Using a single-group pretest-posttest design, the program was tested on a group of 40 elderly women aged 75 to 84 years living alone in Daejeon, Korea. Participants completed self-reported study questionnaires before and after the program at the elderly welfare center. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 24.0, with significance level set at .05. Paired t-test was used to compare mean differences before and after the program. Results: The mean age of the study participants was 79.1 years. After completing the program, the participants showed higher levels of self-transcendence (t=8.78, p<.001), overall spiritual well-being (t=8.30, p=.002), religious spiritual well-being (t=1.79, p=.040), existential spiritual well-being (t=6.75, p=.002), and positive affect (t=3.77, p=.001) than they did before the program. They also reported lower levels of depression (t=-7.59, p<.001) and negative affect (t=-6.15, p<.001). Conclusion: The self-transcendence enhancement program developed in this study may be effective for improving the level of self-transcendence in elderly women living alone and helping them to attain spiritual and psychological well-being.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.515-525
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• 2019

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a customized health promotion program (CHPP) on depression, cognitive functioning, and physical health of elderly women living alone in the community. Methods: A randomized comparison of pre-and post-test design was used with 62 participants assigned to either an intervention (n=32 in seven clusters) or a control group (n=30 in seven clusters) in 14 areas of a town. The final sample included 30 intervention participants who completed the CHPP for 10 weeks, and 26 control participants. The intervention group participated in the CHPP weekly; they were provided with instructions about coping with their chronic illnesses, lifestyle modification, risk management, providing emotional support to each other, and floor-seated exercise, which they were encouraged to do three times a week in their homes. Results: Significant group differences were found in depression (U=48.50, p<.001), cognitive functioning (U=2.50, p<.001), left arm flexibility (U=251.50, p=.023), right arm flexibility (U=225.00, p=.007), static balance (U=237.00, p=.012), and gait ability (U=190.50, p=.004). However, there were no significant differences in bothgrip strength and muscle mass between the two groups. Conclusion: The findings indicate that CHPP was overall effective at improving depression, cognitive functioning, and physical functioning of elderly women living alone, and could therefore be considered a positive program for community-dwelling elderly women living alone.

• Journal of the Korean society of biological therapies in psychiatry
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.184-193
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• 2018

Objectives : This study investigated the effects of social support and chronic medical conditions on depressive symptoms in elderly people living alone in a rural community. Methods : Sociodemographic information on 173 subjects aged 65 years or older who lived alone in a rural community and were recipients of National Basic Livelihood Security was collected and analyzed. All participants completed the Korean Form of the Geriatric Depression Scale and the Lubben Social Network Scale. Additionally, the current prevalence of chronic medical conditions that interfere with the activities of daily living was examined. Multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to analyze the associations of social support and chronic medical conditions with depressive symptoms. Results : Social support(odds ratio: OR, 0.96; 95% confidence interval: 95% CI, 0.92-0.99) and chronic medical conditions(OR, 1.59; 95% CI, 1.23-2.05) were significantly associated with depressive symptoms in all subjects. When analyzed by gender, social support served as a protective factor against depressive symptoms in elderly men only(OR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.83-0.99), and chronic medical conditions increased the risk of depressive symptoms in elderly women only(OR, 1.74; 95% CI, 1.26-2.40). Furthermore, osteoarthritis and lumbar pain were risk factors for depressive symptoms in all subjects(OR, 2.24; 95% CI, 1.10-4.56 and OR, 2.10; 95% CI, 1.08-4.12) and in elderly women(OR, 4.07; 95% CI, 1.68-9.84 and OR, 3.34; 95% CI, 1.47-7.57), respectively. Conclusion : This study indicates that improving the social support and managing the chronic medical conditions of elderly people living alone are important for the prevention of depression in this population. Additionally, the present results suggest that it is necessary to establish different depression-prevention strategies for elderly men and women living alone.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.247-258
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• 2016

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a comprehensive exercise program for the prevention of urinary incontinence (UI), frailty, and depression, as well as the promotion of physical function in community-dwelling elderly female living alone. Methods: A nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design was employed. The participants were 76 vulnerable elderly female with a mild-to-moderate urinary incontinence. The exercise group completed 12 weeks of a moderate intensity, comprehensive exercise program. Descriptive statistics, independent t-tests and ANCOVA were used for data analysis with SPSS. Results: Upon the completion of the 12-week exercise program, significant improvements for UI symptoms (p=.001), timed up and go (p<.001), frailty (p=.006), and depression (p<.001) were observed, but not for hand grip strength (p=.053). Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that the 12-week comprehensive exercise program for the prevention of urinary incontinence had positive effects on improving UI symptoms, physical function, levels of frailty and depression in elderly women living alone. More prolonged exercise programs with other types of exercise should be developed for these vulnerable elderly women, and future studies are encouraged to confirm the effect of the comprehensive exercise program in other settings.