• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.89-108
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to analyze the factors influencing life satisfaction in widowhood among older females. Using the sixth Korean Retirement and Income Study (KReIS) supplementary survey data, a total sample of 1,471 women aged 65 or older whose spouse had died were selected, divided into 508 young-old (65-74), 745 middle-old (75-84), and 218 oldest-old (85+). Then, factors influencing the life satisfaction of these three groups were analyzed, based on a combination of perceived health and interpersonal satisfaction levels. It was found that among the young-old group, a higher level of subjective health perception indicated by monthly income and material support and interpersonal satisfaction linked to more frequent participation in community gathering combined for an overall higher level of life satisfaction. For the middle-old group, higher life satisfaction was provided by monthly income, informational support, and material support for subjective health perception and no diseases for interpersonal satisfaction. The oldest-old group with higher life satisfaction referred to monthly income for subjective health perception and no experience in donation activities for interpersonal satisfaction. Based on these findings, this study provides implications for policy and practice to improve the life satisfaction of elderly women who have experienced their spouse's death.

• 한국사회정책
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.95-123
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• 2016

As Korean society grows rapidly older, a systematic analysis of the determinants of labor supply behavior among the elderly becomes a prerequisite for designing more effective senior employment policies and income security regime for the elderly. Literatures review shows that a majority of previous researches have been ignoring the problem of "endogenous predictor" especially when it comes to the estimation of the effects of the two key variables, education and non-labor income, on labor supply decisions among older people. They have failed to take into consideration the unobserved heterogeneities which might affect both labor supply decisions of the elderly and their levels of education and non-labor income, which means, according to some econometric literatures, that the estimated coefficients of the two predictors can be inconsistent. The paper tries to redress the endogeneity problem by employing a panel logit model with data from the 1st. to 4th. wave of the KLoSA(Korean Longitudinal Survey of Ageing) to estimate the effects of key predictors on the probability of getting jobs among older people(ages of 60 or older). Both a random effects and a fixed effects model reaffirms that non-labor income has a negative effect on the chances of being employed. And a random effects model shows that the effect of education is also negative, as has frequently been reported by previous studies. That means the effects of education and non-labor income on elderly employment remain negative after the effect of unobserved heterogeneities is controled for and the problem of endogenous predictors is redressed through an appropriate panel data analysis. These findings mean, in turn, that when Korean baby-boomers, who had acquired an unprecedentedly higher level of education and were expected to enjoy ever-larger amount of non-labor income than their preceding generations, retires in near future, their incentives to work will become much weaker and the lack of labor-force and the burden of financing increased public pension expenditure will become more troublesome. The paper concludes with recommending some policy initiatives helpful to solve these expected problems.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.504-517
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• 2012

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate gender differences in risk factors and sleep, depression, and mobility of Korean elderly with and without low back pain and sciatica. Methods: Data were derived from the 2011 Korean National Survey on Older Adults. Participants included 10,674 community-dwelling elderly. The group of elderly subjects with low back pain and sciatica and the group of elderly subjects without low back pain and sciatica were compared according to gender. Result: Age, monthly income, exercise, arthritis, osteoporosis, and providing caring support were significant risk factors for low back pain and sciatica in elderly male subjects. On the other hand, monthly income, living arrangement, arthritis, osteoporosis, providing caring support, and television watching time were significant risk factors in elderly female subjects. Significant differences in depression and mobility according to low back pain and sciatica were observed in both genders. Conclusion: Risk factors for low back pain and sciatica in elderly differed according to gender. Low back pain and sciatica showed an association with depression and mobility. These findings should be considered in planning for nursing intervention for low back pain and sciatica.

• Korean Institute of Interior Design Journal
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.231-242
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• 2012

The purposes of this study were to identify the needs for ubiquitous home services in residential environment of elderly single or elderly couple households living without children and also to analyze the differences of the needs according to their demographic and housing characteristics. For this study, a literature review and field works on ubiquitous home services for older people were performed. Also, 1 to 1 interview by using the questionnaire which was developed by the researchers in this study was conducted and 270 elderly residents in Seoul and Gyeonggi-Do were responded. Seventy-one ubiquitous service items which were adopted to home electronic appliances and furniture for older people were developed for 1 to 1 interview questionnaire. The major findings of the study were as follows: the elderly residents expressed highest need for ubiquitous home service items related to safety and health issues. Among ubiquitous service items applied to gas stove, vacuum cleaner, TV, telephone, sofa and toilet, the items related to safety and health aspects were most needed. And residents' income level and health status were the two major variables to show group differences in the need of ubiquitous home services. In other words, the elderly residents who were high income and frail tended to have the highest demand for ubiquitous home services adopted to home electronic appliances and furniture.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.261-268
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• 2020

Objective: This study was conducted to provide basic data on physical function improvement activities of elderly care facilities by identifying the degree of physical improvement activities of elderly caregivers. Design: Descriptive correlational study. Methods: The instrument of this study consisted of 12 questions on the general characteristics of the subject. For the assessment of improvement in physical function activities, the measuring tool used for the elderly consisted of a total of 20 questions. For data analysis, Pearson's correlation coefficient & Spearman's rho and multiple regression were used. Results: The higher the age of the subjects, the lower their educational background (r=-0.273, p<0.05), and the higher the probability of having a religion (r=-0.258, p<0.05), the more stable the employment type (r=-0.333, p<0.05). The higher the level of education, the higher the monthly income (r=0.187, p<0.01), and the shorter the career (r=-0.204, p<0.05). The more stable employment, the more unstable duty (r=-0.245, p<0.05), and the more unstable work, the higher the monthly income (r=-0.206, p<0.05) and the longer the career, the higher the monthly income (r=0.247, p<0.05). The more stable the employment, the more activities to improve physical function were found (r=0.341, p<0.05), and the more unstable the duty, the more activities to improve physical function were found (r=0.321, p<0.05), and the higher monthly income, the less physical function improvement activities (r=-0.196, p<0.05). Conclusions: It is necessary to provide regular services by a dedicated physical therapist for physical function improvement activities in order to improve the quality of life of the elderly in the future.

• The Korean Journal of Rehabilitation Nursing
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.92-101
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• 2009

Purpose: This study was conducted to explore the functional status and long-term care services for the community-dwelling low-income elderly. Method: A descriptive research design was used in this study. The functional status of the participants was obtained using Minimum Data Set-Home Care Version 2.0 and the long-term care services were identified via Michigan's choice. Total of 154 persons aged 65 years or older completed Korean Minimum Data Set-Home Care Version 2.0 on the community dwelling low-income elderly. Results: The average of Activities of Daily Living was 4.19, and the range was 0-55, while the average of Instrument of Activities of Daily Living was 4.85 and the range was 0-56. Among the subjects, 46.1% belonged to the Information and Referral group and 1.3% to the Nursing Home group. Severe daily pain was reported by 14.9%, and 76.6% of the participants had impaired vision. The Activities of Daily Living was difference according to living with, education, vision, and depression. The long-term care services differed according to gender, pain, vision, hearing, and depression. Conclusion: The support policy for the elderly needed to focus on impaired visual and depression to enhance the activities of daily living. Moreover, there is a need for the Information and Referral group to arrange and develop nursing intervention resources.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.938-950
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• 2003

We conducted a case-control study to examine the relationship of depression and dietary related factors with the hyperlipidemia for urban living elderly women from low income group. The case group consisted of 45 elderly females with hyperlipidemia (serum cholesterol $\geq$ 240mg/dl or serum TG $\geq$ 250mg/dl and the control group of 95 age matched elderly women with serum cholesterol levels less than 240mg/dl and serum TG less than 250mg/dl. In a univariate analysis, vitamin C intake, the number of family members living with the subject, and their depression scores were significantly higher in the hyperlipidemic group than in the control group. In the logistic regression analysis, the vitamin C intake ($\geq$75% Korean RDA), the number of family members living with the subject ($\geq$ 1), depression scores ($\geq$7), BMI ($\geq$27), and subscapular skinfold thickness ($\geq$18mm) were associated with significantly higher (p<0.05) risks of hyperlipidemia in the elderly women. However after adjustment for other covariables, the depression scores (Odds Ratio 2.48 for depression score$\geq$7;95%CI:1.10-5.60) and subscapular skinfold thicknesses (Odds Ratio 5.69 for SBT$\geq$18mm, 95%CI:1.87-17.32) were the significant risk factors associated with hyperlipidemia in the elderly women.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.44 no.10
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• pp.133-144
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• 2006

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of human capital and social capital, including employment status, education, income, social supports, and social participations, on the health status of the elderly aged over 50, after controlling for various demographic variables. Data were from the 6th wave of the Korean Labor and Income Panel Study(n=3,459). The major findings of this study were as follows: First, human capital and social capital were both resources that can contribute to improving the health status of the elderly aged over 50. Second, the effects of human capital and social capital on the health status of the elderly differed in the three subsamples defined by employment status. Based on the empirical results, policy implications were provided.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.200-209
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• 2010

Purpose: This study was conducted to determine the effects of a fall prevention program on knowledge, efficacy, and prevention behavior of falls among the low-income elderly. Methods: This study used a nonequivalent control group pre and post test quasi-experimental research design. The study was conducted from August to October, 2008 with 20 subjects in the experimental group and 22 in the control group who were registered at the public health center of S District in D City. Results: Hypothesis 1 "The experimental group that participated in the fall prevention program will show a higher degree of knowledge about falls than the control group" was supported. Hypothesis 2 "The experimental group will have a higher degree of self-efficacy of falls than the control group" was not supported. Hypothesis 3 "The experimental group will report fall prevention behavior more frequently than the control group" was supported. Conclusion: It was verified that the fall prevention program in this study was an effective intervention to improve knowledge about falls and fall prevention behaviors among the low-income elderly. The results can be used as part of an intervention to prevent falls for the vulnerable elderly such as the low-income elderly.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.199-211
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• 2023

Purpose : Rapid population aging in South Korea is emerging as serious social problems, and interest in the health-related quality of life of the elderly is also increasing. Therefore, this study attempted to provide basic data to develop measures to improve the health-related quality of life of the elderly by identifying the impact of the elderly's dietary lifestyle on the health-related quality of life. Methods : Utilizing raw data from the Korea national health and nutrition examination survey spanning from 2011 to 2020, this study focused on individuals aged 65 and above. After excluding cases with missing data, 12,731 individuals were included in the final analysis. Various statistical methods including frequency analysis, t-tests, ANOVA, Scheffé test and hierarchical regression analysis were performed using SPSS 25.0 for windows. The statistical significance level (α) was set at .05. Results : The main results of this study were as follows. Firstly, dietary lifestyle exhibited variations depending on gender, age, education level, individual income, basic livelihood type, household type, self-rated health status, and chewing difficulty (p<.001). Secondly, there were disparities in health-related quality of life (as measured by the EQ-5D index) based on gender, age, education level, residence, individual income, basic livelihood security, self-rated health status, and chewing difficulty (p<.001). Thirdly, the EQ-5D index showed that elderly individuals' dietary lifestyle adversely impacted their health-related quality of life (F=353.74, p<.001). Conclusion : Therefore, it is necessary to prepare policies to improve the health-related quality of life by maintaining a proper diet for the elderly, and customized support and management is required taking into account the elderly's gender, age, education level, individual income, basic livelihood security, household type, self-rated health status, chewing difficulty etc.