• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.78-87
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• 2017

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify factors influencing the quality of life of the elderly living alone and living with their families with regard to their health statuses and health behavior experiences. Methods: We used source data from the 2014 Community Health Survey. The subjects of this study included some elderly people aged 65 and over, and analyzed the data of 13,373 elders living alone and 13,322 elders living with family. Results: Factors influencing the quality of life of the elderly living alone and living with their families include gender, age, education, household income, current occupation, subjective stress level, depression, number of diagnosed diseases, walking exercise, the experience of health screening, and the experience of not having necessary medical services (p<.001). Region was a significant variable influencing the quality of life of the elderly living with their families (p<.001). Conclusion: In order to improve the quality of life of the elderly, it is necessary to provide sound conditions for working, emotional support, walking exercise and promotion of health screening, and to supplement the environment and institution for them to receive necessary medical services.

• Korean Journal of Artificial Intelligence
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.15-21
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• 2021

This paper conducted a feasibility study by applying an Internet of Things and Artificial intelligence-based management system for the elderly living alone in an aging society. The number of single-person families over the age of 50 is expected to increase, and problems such as health, safety, and loneliness may occur due to aging. Therefore, by establishing an IoT-based care system for the elderly living alone, a stable service was developed through securing a rapid response system for the elderly living alone and automatically reporting 119. The participants of the demonstration test were subjects under the jurisdiction of the "Seongnam Senior Complex," and the data collection rate between the IoT sensor and the emergency safety gateway was high. During the demonstration period, as a result of evaluating the satisfaction of the IoT-based care system for the elderly living alone, 90 points were achieved. We are currently in the COVID-19 situation. Therefore, the number of elderly living alone is continuously increasing, and the number of people who cannot benefit from care services will continue to occur. Also, even if the COVID-19 situation is over, the epidemic will happen again. So the care system is essential. The elderly care system developed in this way will provide safety management services based on artificial intelligence-based activity pattern analysis, improving the quality of in-house safety services.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.17-34
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• 2019

Older women who live alone are among society's most vulnerable people, since they experience increased risk of multiple chronic diseases and have limited financial protection. This can lead older women living alone to catastrophic health expenditure(CHE), which is defined as a healthcare expenditure that exceeds a certain portion of a household's ability to pay. Using the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing(KLoSA), this study investigated the incidence of CHE among older women living alone and identified the factors related to this incidence. Applying health expenditure thresholds of 10%, 20%, 30% and 40% of ability to pay, the proportions of those with CHE were 41.3%, 22.9%, 14.6%, and 9.4%, respectively. Logistic regression models were used to identify factors related to CHE incidence, which include demographics, income, the number of chronic diseases, perceived health status, and health insurance type. The results show that the health care safety net in South Korea is insufficient for older women living alone. The findings can guide policymakers in improving healthcare and welfare policies to protect people from catastrophic payments. Particularly, welfare policies should be established for poor non-recipients who are not included within the benefits scope of the National Basic Livelihood Security System due to the unrealistic criteria of income recognition and family support obligation.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.16 no.12
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• pp.8957-8965
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• 2015

The degree of difficulty in low-income elderly people who living alone' life satisfaction is increased. The aim of this study is to find factors affecting the low-income elderly people who living alone' life satisfaction by examining the comparative influence of loneliness, family support, social support. For achieving this purpose, this study analyzed data of 300 low-income elderly people who living alone in Gyeonggi province. Findings of the study identified that the factors affecting the life satisfaction were health status, loneliness, family support, social support. Further, family support and social support had a significant influence on the low-income elderly people who living alone' life satisfaction even after controlling the influences of other factors. On the basis of the results, practical suggestions to increase the life satisfaction of low-income elderly people who living alone were discussed.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.66 no.3
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• pp.29-53
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• 2014

This research is to study the economical, psychsocial, physical pains of the elderly mens living alone and the process being out of the isolated life. From this, we expect to propose a supportive program to help the living alone of the elderly mens. Six of the elderly mens living alone joined this research and the hermeneutical grounded theory methodology was applied to interpret it. Data were collected by the depth interview and various written records and they were analyzed by Rennie(2007)'s methodology. We could construct 13 categories by analyzing and categorizing meaningful units of the data. The core theme of the living alone experience was presented as "Accepting self-existence forgotten in the swamp of isolation and preparing for the blessed death." Based upon the research outcomes, we suggested a social supportive program considering the elderly men's characters and a way to improve the accessibility to the therapy system for the elderly mens living alone and the need for a meaning therapy.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.716-725
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• 2003

In this study, the dietary behaviors, depression rates and nutrient intakes were assessed for elderly females living alone (ELA) and elderly females not living alone (ENLA). The subjects were 140 elderly females (living alone 70; not living alone 70) residing in Bucheon city. Dietary data were obtained using the 24-hr recall method. There were more subjects with low monthly incomes (less than 500,000 won) in the ELA group. The proportion of the ELA group which skipped at least one meal per day was 38.5% and the main reasons given were low appetite and depression. Fewer of the ELA group were observed to have smoking and drinking habits. However, the majority of the ELA smokers smoked more than 6 cigarettes per smoking. The drinking score of the ELA group was also higher than that of the ENLA group. The total score of depression for the ELA group was higher than that of the ENLA group. The total score of nutrition risk index (NRI) of the ELA group (8.09) was also higher than that of the ENLA group (2.31). The dietary assessment using the 24 hr-recall method showed that the ELA group had lower nutrients intakes, and significant differences were shown in the intakes of energy (1137 kcal vs 1275 kcal), animal protein, animal fat, carbohydrates, animal Ca, and animal Fe. There was a positive correlation between the NRI and the depression scores. However a higher NRI was associated with lower intakes for most of the nutrients in the ELA group.

• Korean Institute of Interior Design Journal
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.77-85
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• 2018

The number of household living alone including young single adults has gradually increased. The purpose of this study is to examine the demand on housing options, additional space, shared space, community facilities, housing service for young adults living alone including college students. A total of 180 questionnaire were collected and analyzed. For housing location, commuting distance is the most important feature and amenities are the second important feature. For additional space, there is a significant difference between male and female single residents. Female residents want to install dress room most while male adults want to have a study room. For the shared house option, single adults concerns housing fee and living cost most. However, female adults concern safety and security issues much more than male ones do. The degree of preference to community facilities varies between male and female single residents. The findings suggest more differentiated approaches are needed for alternative housing options for male and female residents.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.24 no.9
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• pp.1245-1248
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• 2020

Elderly people living alone need smart care for independent living. Recent advances in artificial intelligence have allowed for easier interaction by a computer-controlled virtual human. This technology can realize services such as medicine intake guide for the elderly living alone. In this paper, we suggest an intelligent virtual human and present our virtual human toolkit for controlling virtual humans for a senior citizen living alone. To make the virtual human motion, we suggest our authoring toolkit to map gestures, emotions, voices of virtual humans. The toolkit configured to create virtual human interactions allows the response of a suitable virtual human with facial expressions, gestures, and voice.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.799-812
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• 2020

Purpose: This study aimed to construct and test a predictive model that explains and predicts the quality of life in older men living alone. Methods: A self-report questionnaire was used to collect data from 334 older adult men living along aged 65 years or over living in Jeollanam-do provinces. The endogenous variables were depression, self-rated health, instrumental activity of daily life, health promotion behaviors, the number of social participation activities and quality of life. Data were analyzed using the SPSS 21.0 and AMOS 21.0 programs. Results: The final model with 14 of the 8 analysed paths showed a good fit to the empirical data: χ2 = 173.26(p < .001, df = 53), normed χ2 = 3.27, GFI = .92, NFI = .90, CFI = .93, TLI = .89, RMSEA = .08 and SRMR = .06. Activities had direct effect on quality of life of older men living alone and social support had both direct and indirect effects. Meanwhile, function and socioeconomic status showed only indirect effects. The variables included in the eight significant paths explained 83.7% of variance in the prediction model. Conclusion: Instrumental activities of daily living and social support effect directly on quality of life in the older men living alone. Findings suggest that health care providers including community nurses need to provide social support as well as empowerment programs of instrumental activities of daily living and health promotion for improving quality of life of the older men living alone.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.171-181
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• 2007

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the living experiences of low-income elderly living alone. Method: The data were collected through more than ten times of in-depth interview with 7 participants. The research question was "what is it like to experience your daily living?" The data were analyzed by Colaizzi's phenomenological analytic method. Results: Four main meaningful themes were identified: 1) The participants blamed themselves for their past lives, 2) They also felt sorry for being a burden on other's lives, 3) They considered diseases to be a natural part of life, 4) They felt worried and hopeless about the rest of their lives. Conclusion: This study revealed the living experiences of low-income elderly living alone. Further studies are needed to determine appropriate care and treatment. The authentic caring approaches are required with caring community people. Finally, this study may provide data for better recognizing the low-income elderly's experiences of caring in the community.