• Journal of the Korean housing association
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.125-136
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• 2016

This study specifies daily behaviors that elderly residents perform in their living space and verifies the behaviors that they have difficulties in performing. The study categorized elderly people according to the level of difficulties they have when performing household activities (independence of behavior performance) and verified characteristics of the sub-behaviors and the level of difficulties of performing them in each type. For this purpose, the study conducted observation investigation on the behavior of elderly people by directly visiting houses of 52 elderly people over the age of 65. The characteristics of sub-behavior were also examined through photograph shooting and in-depth interview. In this study, behaviors of elderly people inside living space were categorized into the following nine behaviors. The study investigated the difficulties of performing these sub-behaviors according to the elderly people's level of independence by each behavior. Analyzing the difficulties of sub-behaviors according to the independence level, elderly people felt more structural problems and inconvenience in using facilities when they have lower independence level. Moving from independence to dependence, their performance of behaviors gradually became difficult, making them inevitable to use tools. At last, they came to need caregiver's help. For continuous sustenance of elderly people's independent living inside house, policy measures are required that can address the difficulties of sub-behaviors that are observed in a series of process of one's becoming dependent from independent in this study.