• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.64-75
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• 2024

Purposes: This study aims to identify the characteristics of the study subjects by age, including non-elderly people aged 19 to 65, pre-elderly people aged 65 to 75, and elderly people aged 75 and over, and to identify factors affecting health literacy based on an investigation of the health literacy level of each study group. This study would like to find out the differences in health literacy factors by age group. Methodology: The HLS-EU-Q16, developed by the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe for the Health literacy Survey of Europeans, will be applied in this study. Findings: We found that scores decreased in order of nonelderly, pre-elderly, and late-elderly in health care, disease prevention, and health promotion. In addition, health literacy was lower in the older age group, and higher health literacy was associated with being unmarried, higher education, and higher income. In terms of influencing factors, marital status was significantly different in the non-elderly group, and higher education level was associated with higher health literacy. Practical Implications: The results of this study show that health literacy levels are low in all age groups, and efforts to improve health literacy in younger, older, and non-elderly groups are needed. It is expected that age-specific health literacy strategies can help improve the level of understanding and utilization of health information, improve health, and lead a healthy life.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.929-945
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• 2012

This study examined structured social network types and their relationship to quality on life satisfaction of older adults. Respondents were 418 adults aged 60 or older living alone or as couples. The data was analyzed using K-means cluster analysis. Four networks types were identified: diverse, friend-neighbor focused, family focused, and restricted. Life satisfaction was highest for individuals in the diverse network group and lowest for individuals in the restricted network group. Stepwise multiple regression analysis indicated that life satisfaction of the elderly was affected by the diverse network, family focused network, the relationship quality with children, the relationship quality with neighbors, and the relationship quality with relatives. Results suggested that having diverse social network in close proximity is very important in old age and structural network types may have important practical implications for improving the quality of life among the elderly.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.37-51
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• 2002

The purpose of this study was to explore university students′ perceptions about the elderly before and after an introductory course for gerontology. Sixty-two male and female undergraduate students participated in the study as a part of the course requirement. Throughout the semester, theme students received a series of classroom lectures on gerontology, as well as participated in diverse activities to experience elderly lives. A survey was administered with the students at the beginning of the first day of class and at the end of the semester. By the end of the unit university students were more likely to have accurate conceptions of and positive attitudes toward aging and the aged. More specifically, they were more likely to (1) perceive "old" and "getting old" as a positive one, (2) seem older adults spend their time on active self-development and social activities, (3) view older adults are important, (4) change opinions about what an old person and young person do together, and (5) have a positive outlook on their own future lives as older adults.

• Perspectives in Nursing Science
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.102-110
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• 2012

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that influence health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in community-dwelling older adults. Methods: The participants were 133 elderly people dwelling in a community. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and Stepwise multiple regression with SPSS. Results: The predictors of quality of life in the elderly were depression, physical symptoms, and social support. Depression and physical symptoms had a significant negative correlation with HRQoL and social support had a significant positive correlation with HRQoL. Among them, depression was shown as the most significant predictor of HRQoL in the elderly ($R^2$=.573, p<.001). Conclusion: These results indicate that strategies to relieve depression should be integrated in interventions to improve the QoL of older adults dwelling in a community residence.

• Proceeding of Spring/Autumn Annual Conference of KHA
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• 2006.11a
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• pp.144-148
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• 2006

Kitchen space is one of the most dangerous places for the elderly. Modification of kitchen space for improving safety and independence for older residents is very important factor for aging -in-place. The purpose of this study wes to identify the current situation and modification of kitchen space by elderly-headed household. The sample included 108 respondents over the age 65 who consisted of elderly-couple or single person household with homeownership in Seoul. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics. Based on the findings of the study, the present incidence and recognition of future need in kitchen modification were identified. Changes in kitchen space made tended to be nonstructural or relatively inexpensive items. In conclusion, this study suggests several ideas for improving current physical problems of kitchen space to support daily living of older residents.

• Journal of the Korean housing association
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.49-58
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• 2007

Kitchen space is one of the most dangerous places for the elderly. Modifications of kitchen space for improving safety and independence for older residents are very important factor for aging in place. The purpose of this study was to identify the current situations and modifications of kitchen space by elderly-headed households. The sample included 108 respondents over the age 65 who consisted of elderly-couple or single person household with homeownership in Seoul. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics. Based on the findings of the study, the present incidence and recognition of future need in kitchen modifications were identified. Changes made in kitchen space tended to be nonstructural or relatively inexpensive items. In conclusion, this study suggests several ideas for improving current physical problems of kitchen space to support safe and independent daily living of older residents.

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.19-26
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• 2010

Germany became a super-aged society which has the number of people aged 65 or older reached 19 percent of population in 1997. Similarly, there is a tendency in Korea to increase the number of older people coupled with an increase in the number of households of the senior citizen who lives alone due to a rapid change of family unit. Research on geriatric in Germany is being carried out in many different ways, like medical, welfare, and social aspects because of the fact that Germany is in the middle of a super-aged society. Therefore, analysis and evaluation of elderly care facilities in Germany will be used as a fundamental resource for overall planning of elderly care and welfare facilities which are expected to grow demand dramatically.

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.33-43
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• 2009

As a result of rapid aging speed in our society, many problems related to elderly people have happened in many parts of our society. Among them, supply for elderly housing is one of the biggest problems. To solve these problems, 'long-term care insurance' has been put in operation from July 2008. By the time of the insurance operation, Ministry of Health and Welfare is increasing facilities every year according to '10-year expending plan of Care service infra' from 2002. As a result, the supply rate of elderly facilities has been raised. But the differences of facility supply rate between regions are very high in some cases. Therefore older people who need care sometimes cannot get proper care services in some areas. In that case, the frail older people have to use other care facilities of other regions. This is not a proper situation from the point of "Aging in Place". In order to prevent that case, it is necessary to set up proper 'Daily Living Spheres' and establish elderly care plan for it. Considering the points above, this study proposes the size of 'Daily Living Spheres' for the elderly, the kind and amount of elderly care facilities in it for the construction of Community Based Elderly Care System.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.21 no.5 s.77
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• pp.103-111
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• 2006

The purpose of this study was to analyse the relationships between cognitive abilities and driving characteristics of elderly drivers. Driving characteristics of elderly and younger drivers who were driving a fixed base driving simulator vehicle were examined. Participants consisted of 12 drivers over age 65 (the 'older' group) and 12 drivers between the ages of 25 and 55 (the "younger" group). As indices of cognitive ability, critical flicker fusion frequency (CFF) tests and cognitive reaction tests were given before the driving task. CFF was also tested after the simulated driving task for both groups. Cognitive reaction tests, which were composed of speed estimation tests, multiple choice reaction tests and obstacle avoidance tests, were developed by the Korean Road Traffic Safety Authority in 2003. CFF values between the two groups exhibited significant differences both before and after the task, with a p-value less than 0.01 and a t-value of -3.01 before the test and a p-value less than 0.031 and a t-value of -2.35 after the test. Older drivers' CFF values were lower than those of the younger. However, there was no difference in older or younger driver CFF values before and after the task within the same group. Except for the multiple choice reaction test, there was no difference in cognitive reaction test results between the two groups. The elderly drivers made more errors though they did not differ from the younger drivers in reaction times. At the simulated driving task the reaction time of the elderly driver was longer than that of the younger; however, the driving speed of the elderly was lower and the number of collisions greater. There was a positive correlation (r=.496) between the number of errors in the multiple choice reaction test and the number of collisions in the driving task. Therefore, it was identified that critical attributes contributing to automobile crashes involving elderly drivers included cognitive difficulty in judging and responding to complex situations.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.749-758
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• 2001

The purpose of the study was to analyze the functional status of low income elderly living at home according to their socio-economic factors, sensory function, health status, medical service utilization, commodity and types of chronic disease. Method: Functional status was defined by the level of mobility, ADL and IADL categorized as independently functional, mildly impaired, moderately disabled, and severely disabled. The data was collected by home-visit interviews with 567 community dwelling adults who were 65 years of age or more with low a income status subsidized by government in ChonAn. Results: 9.9% of community dwelling older adults were severely disabled, and 44.4% were moderately disabled in their functional status. There were significant differences in the functional status by age, education, religion, and types of family structure. The older adults with hearing impairment or dental problems had a significantly higher rate of severe disability. Self-rated health status and medical service utilization were also significant factors to the differences in functional status. The functional status of older adults was also significantly related to the presence of chronic health problems such as chronic back pain, stroke, and Alzheimer-dementia. Conclusion: The results confirmed that community dwelling older adults with low income status were more functionally disabled in comparison to general older adults at national level, while the relating factors to their functional status seemed similar to other studies on older adults. Further studies were suggested to look into functional status longitudinally and focus on the changes of functional status by managing modifiable influencing factors.