• Journal of Korean Academy of Rural Health Nursing
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.13-27
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• 2017

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify health-related factors, especially for the elderly who are subject to visiting health care at vulnerable populations. Methods: Tools were Guide to Community Integrated Health Promotion Project 2016, Visit Health Care Health Interview Survey, measures of physical function, motor skills, composite mobility, BMI, and subjective fitness levels. Depression was measured with the Short Results: Older elders living alone were more vulnerable than those with living others. Elders with less education showed greater weakness but the difference was not significant. Average scores for frailty were 2.21 (healthy group), 7.66 (high-risk group) and 15.69 (frail group). Scores based on weakness level differed significantly with the exception of nutrition. Nine out of 10 elders in disadvantaged areas were in the frail group or at high risk. Conclusion: Results support the goal to maintain/improve physical/mental functions through individual management of high-risk/frail older adults at risk of becoming infirm. It is imperative to implement a public health care delivery system to ensure programs are operated effectively and personalized.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to identify latent classes of socioeconomic status and to explore whether those of socioeconomic status influenced self-esteem among elderly living alone. From the data of 2009 National Elder Abuse Investigation, 1,333 older adults who were over 65 years and living alone were analyzed. Latent class analysis, one-way ANOVA, and hierarchical regression analysis were performed to test the purpose of this study. Results of this study found 5 latent classes of socioeconomic status, named as high education-low income group, low education-low income group, middle education-low income group, high education-high income group, and low education-high income group. Next, there were significant differences in self-esteem depending on 5 latent classes of socioeconomic status. Finally, compared to low education-low income group, high education-low income group, middle education-low income group, high education-high income group, and low education-high income group showed higher levels of self-esteem, even after adjusting for confounding factors. Findings from this study suggested fundamental characteristics and public policy for elderly living alone.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.168-176
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• 2020

Objectives : Loneliness and poor sleep quality are common phenomena in old age and are associated with negative physical and mental health. However, little is known regarding the relation between loneliness and sleep quality. The aim of this study was to examine the association of loneliness and sleep quality among the elderly living alone. Methods : This is a cross-sectional study that enrolled 1,090 subjects who are the community-residing elderly living alone. Sociodemographic status, medical condition, cognition, mood disorder, sleep quality and levels of loneliness were collected using a self-administered questionnaire and a specific semi-structured interview conducted by trained nurses. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze data regarding sociodemographic variable and loneliness. Univariate and Multivariate regression analyses were applied to examine the association between loneliness and sleep quality after adjustment for multiple confounding variables. Results : The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) mean score of "lonely group" (9.2±4.2) was significantly higher than that of "not lonely group" (7.3±3.7) (student-t test, p<0.001). Loneliness was significantly associated with PSQI (standardized β=0.065, p=0.025), sleep disturbance (standardized β=0.086, p=0.005), use of sleep medication (standardized β=0.065, p=0.034) after adjustment for possible confounding variables including sex and mood disorder. Conclusions : Loneliness was associated with sleep disturbance and this finding implied negative impact of loneliness on sleep quality of older adults. Public health promotion efforts to reduce loneliness may improve sleep quality and mental health in the elderly living alone.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.55-68
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• 2023

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the main keywords, network properties, and main topics of news articles related to artificial intelligence technology in the field of nursing. Methods: After collecting artificial intelligence-and nursing-related news articles published between January 1, 1991, and July 24, 2022, keywords were extracted via preprocessing. A total of 3,267 articles were searched, and 2,996 were used for the final analysis. Text network analysis and topic modeling were performed using NetMiner 4.4. Results: As a result of analyzing the frequency of appearance, the keywords used most frequently were education, medical robot, telecom, dementia, and the older adults living alone. Keyword network analysis revealed the following results: a density of 0.002, an average degree of 8.79, and an average distance of 2.43; the central keywords identified were 'education,' 'medical robot,' and 'fourth industry.' Five topics were derived from news articles related to artificial intelligence and nursing: 'Artificial intelligence nursing research and development in the health and medical field,' 'Education using artificial intelligence for children and youth care,' 'Nursing robot for older adults care,' 'Community care policy and artificial intelligence,' and 'Smart care technology in an aging society.' Conclusion: The use of artificial intelligence may be helpful among the local community, older adult, children, and adolescents. In particular, health management using artificial intelligence is indispensable now that we are facing a super-aging society. In the future, studies on nursing intervention and development of nursing programs using artificial intelligence should be conducted.

• Korean Journal of Cognitive Science
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.1-16
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• 2018

In this study, we investigated age differences of preference and trust ratings when the appearance of an artificial intelligent speaker resembles a human face. The appearance of the artificial intelligent speaker was presented in seven levels from robot face to human face. In addition, face stimuli were divided into gender (male and female) and age (20s / 60s). Participants evaluated the reliability and likability of each face stimulus on a 7-point scale. The results show that younger adults tend to prefer the face that was halfway between the robot and the human face, while older adults evaluated that the perceived reliability and likability were higher when the stimuli resembled the human face. When asked to choose the most preferred of the four face categories, all participants chose a younger face. However, with additional conditions including emoticon face and empty condition, older adults still preferred human face, while younger adults preferred emoticon face and empty condition. Taken together, older adults are more receptive to human faces than robotic faces in the context of artificial intelligence speakers. Because artificial intelligent speakers can play an important role in the elderly living alone, the present study will be a good reference in the design and development of artificial intelligent speakers for the elderly users.

• 한국노년학
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.489-511
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• 2009

While late-life suicide has been increasing and become an important issue for public health in Korea, little is known about the phenomenon and its contributing risk factors based on which effective preventive measures can be made. Since suicidal ideation is a major precursor to attempted and completed suicide, the objective of the present study was to reveal primary contributors to suicidal ideation. Data were collected from a cross-sectional survey of 247 community-dwelling Korean older adults (age≥60) in the mid-size city in Korea. The statistical methodology employed a robust hierarchical regression procedure that iteratively downweights outliers. Based on the stress-diathesis model, the study examined major diathesis and stressors directly explaining suicidal ideation. The study also explored the significant interaction among these factors. The findings revealed that living alone and depression were significant main antecedents of suicidal ideation. In addition, neuroticism X life events and neuroticism X depression were significant interaction terms with the strongest explanatory power, which provides an empirical evidence to support the stress-diathesis model in explaining suicidal phenomenon of the Korean elderly. The result demonstrates the theoretical implication as well as the practical implication for developing and implementing late-life suicide prevention strategies. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.21-37
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• 2023

This study examines the living conditions and life satisfaction of single-person households according to their life cycle. The survey was conducted from August to October 2022, and respondents were single-person households from Kimpo, South Korea. The respondents were categorized to three groups namely, young, middle-aged, and older adults by life cycle, and items regarding their sociodemographic background, personal life, family relations, and life satisfaction were included in the analysis. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square analysis, analysis of variance, and multiple regression analysis were performed. The key findings were as follows. First, significant differences were found according to life cycle in the respondents' diet, clothing, housing, financial and home management, self-care, and leisure life. Second, the variables that significantly affected the level of life satisfaction of single-person households were the life cycle with young adults showing a higher level of satisfaction; having a family member to care; living alone voluntarily, discrimination experience; community awareness; and ties with the local community. Based on the results, it is clear that single-person households have different needs and problems in each stage of life cycle. Thus, to reflect the different experiences and needs of single-person households by life cycle, tailored policy and programs should be provided for young, middle-aged, and older adult single-person households.

• Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.29-37
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• 2002

This study was designed to assess diet and health-related factors of older adults in Korea. Subjects females were 2,660 adults aged 50 and over living in Korea. Males were 847 persons and were 1813 persons. The mean weight and height for males and females were 63.8 $\pm$ 0.3kg / 164.0 $\pm$ 0.2cm and 57.0 $\pm$ 0.2kg /150.6 $\pm$ 0.1cm respectively. BMI (body mass index), body fat, and percent fat were significantly greater in females than in males. The muscle mass and body water were significantly greater in males than in females. Twenty-one percent of total subjects lived alone and 26% with spouse only. Most of the subject's self-reported income was in middle level (65%) or low level (24%). Proportion of subjects who answered 'very poor' or 'poor' on perceived health status was higher in older group. The 50-64 years old group was facing more stress than 65yr and over group. Among male subjects,38.4% were current-smokers and 22.0% were ex-smokers. But only 6.5% of female subjects were current-smokers. Males turned out to have better dietary habits-meal frequency per day, mealtime regularity, regular meal size and balanced eating-than females (p < 0.001). This study revealed that the diet and health-related factors affect nutritional status and chronic diseases of the elderly. For better management and evaluation of health status of the elderly, more effective nutritional assessment tools should be developed.

• 한국노년학
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.253-270
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• 2021

We examined if intergenerational proximity might be associated with upstream financial transfer from adult children to older parents, and whether adult child gender might moderate the association. We considered siblings' proximity to parents, as well as that of the adult child. Prior work conducted in the US and other countries has suggested that children living further from parents might provide financial support to compensate for instrumental support provided more by siblings living closer to parents. Data were drawn from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing (2014). Our analytic sample consisted of older adults 60+ and their children aged 35 and 55. None of the children co-resided with parents. Parental households consisted of either widowed individuals or married couples. For within-family analyses, fixed effects and random effects regression models were estimated. Results suggest first, sons living within a 30-minute distance, or within an hour to two-hour distance provided more monetary support to married parents compared to daughters. Second, contrary to existing findings, greater financial assistance was provided by sons and daughters when no children lived within an hour distance from their parents. For widowed parents living alone, intergenerational proximity was not associated with the amount of financial transfer from adult children.

• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.69-83
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• 2024

Objective : This study investigated the prevalence of dysphagia in older adults in Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province and its impact on Quality of Life (QoL) and educational needs. Methods : A cross-sectional survey was conducted from August 1 to 15, 2023, with 207 cognitively normal older adults from three senior welfare centers. Data included general characteristics, Korean-version of the Eating Assessment Tool (K-EAT-10), Swallowing-QoL, and educational needs related to swallowing disorders. Dysphagia was defined by a K-EAT-10 score of 3 or higher. Participants were divided into normal and risk groups for analysis using chi-square and Independent t-test. Results : The prevalence of dysphagia risk (K-EAT-10 score of 3 or higher) was 41.5% (86 individuals). Among the 92 individuals reporting dysphagia symptoms, 64 (69.6%) were at risk. QoL was significantly lower in the risk group, especially among those living alone or with denture discomfort. The most preferred educational need was training in eating solid foods (Mean = 4.27), with higher needs in the dysphagia risk group. Conclusion : This study underscores the prevalence of dysphagia, its impact on QoL, and the need for educational programs. Emphasizing prevention, public awareness, and early detection, along with the role of dysphagia rehabilitation experts and community collaboration, is essential for supporting healthy aging.