• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
• /
• 제22권1호
• /
• pp.149-156
• /
• 2007

This study was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of food commodity supplementary program for low-income, living alone elderly people. The subjects were 57 low income aged females who lived alone in Bucheon city. The food commodity supplementary program lasted for 6 months, supplying one meal per day consisting with grains, meat, vegetables, dairy and fruit. Dietary intake, anthropometric measurements, and blood profiles were assessed. After 6 months of food commodity supplemented period, dietary intakes of protein(p<0.05), calcium(p<0.05), iron(p<0.05) and vitamin B(p<0.001) were significantly increased. The mean weight(p<0.05) and BMI(p<0.05) were increased, and the frequency of BMI over 25kg/m$^2$ was also raised from 54.4% to 59.7%. Serum concentrations of total protein(p<0.001) and albumin(p<0.001) were significantly increased, indicating improvement of protein status. The frequency of anemia was decreased from 45.6% to 26.3%. However, the proportion of dyslipidemia was increased. In general the stable food commodity supplementary program was effective to improve general nutritional status of the poor aged who lived alone, however, nutrient intakes still did not meet RDA for the elderly and the rates of obesity and dyslipidemia were increased. Therefore, local government should provide more active food support program and the selection of food items for commodity should be evaluated at regular intervals.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
• /
• 제39권1호
• /
• pp.1-13
• /
• 2014

Objective: The objectives were to estimate the rate of the injury in the elderly over the past year and to identify factors related to injury in the elderly in South Korea. Method: Using data from the 2008 Community Health Survey, 43,049 elderly persons, aged 65 years and older, were selected as study subjects. Their experience of injury during the past year and other variables, including socio-demographic factors, health-related factors, and diagnosed chronic diseases, were used. The chi-squared test and multiple logistic regression analysis with weighted analysis were conducted and statistical significance was set at p<0.05. Result: The rate of injury in the elderly during the past year was 5.1%. The most common types of the injury were falling/slipping down and traffic accidents. Factors related to injury in the elderly were living alone, current drinking, depression, poor self-rated health, stroke, and osteoporosis. Living alone (odds ratio 1.23, 95% CI: 1.05-1.45), current drinkers (OR 1.19, 95% CI: 1.05-1.35), poor self-rated health (OR 1.72, 95% CI: 1.43-2.08), depression (OR 1.23, 95% CI: 1.17-1.68), and history of stroke (OR 1.40, 95% CI: 1.17-1.68), and history of osteoporosis (OR 1.45, 95% CI: 1.26-1.66) were related to an increased risk of injury. Conclusions: Intervention programs that consider the risk factors related to injury should be developed and implemented to decrease and prevent injuries in the elderly.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
• /
• 제30권1호
• /
• pp.71-130
• /
• 2008

Using data from the Korean Labor & Income Panel Study (KLIPS), this study investigates private income transfers in Korea, where adult children have undertaken the most responsibility of supporting their elderly parents without well-established social safety net for the elderly. According to the KLIPS data, three out of five households provided some type of support for their aged parents and two out of five households of the elderly received financial support from their adult children on a regular base. However, the private income transfers in Korea are not enough to alleviate the impact of the fall in the earned income of those who retired and are approaching an age of needing financial assistance from external source. The monthly income of those at least the age of 75, even with the earning of their spouses, is below the staggering amount of 450,000 won, which indicates that the elderly in Korea are at high risk of poverty. In order to analyze microeconomic factors affecting the private income transfers to the elderly parents, the following three samples extracted from the KLIPS data are used: a sample of respondents of age 50 or older with detailed information on their financial status; a five-year household panel sample in which their unobserved family-specific and time-invariant characteristics can be controlled by the fixed-effects model; and a sample of the younger split-off household in which characteristics of both the elderly household and their adult children household can be controlled simultaneously. The results of estimating private income transfer models using these samples can be summarized as follows. First, the dominant motive lies on the children-to-parent altruistic relationship. Additionally, another is based on exchange motive, which is paid to the elderly parents who take care of their grandchildren. Second, the amount of private income transfers has negative correlation with the income of the elderly parents, while being positively correlated with the income of the adult children. However, its income elasticity is not that high. Third, the amount of private income transfers shows a pattern of reaching the highest level when the elderly parents are in the age of 75 years old, following a decreasing pattern thereafter. Fourth, public assistance, such as the National Basic Livelihood Security benefit, appears to crowd out private transfers. Private transfers have fared better than public transfers in alleviating elderly poverty, but the role of public transfers has been increasing rapidly since the welfare expansion after the financial crisis in the late 1990s, so that one of four elderly people depends on public transfers as their main income source in 2003. As of the same year, however, there existed and occupied 12% of the elderly households those who seemed eligible for the National Basic Livelihood benefit but did not receive any public assistance. To remove elderly poverty, government may need to improve welfare delivery system as well as to increase welfare budget for the poor. In the face of persistent elderly poverty and increasing demand for public support for the elderly, which will lead to increasing government debt, welfare policy needs targeting toward the neediest rather than expanding universal benefits that have less effect of income redistribution and heavier cost. Identifying every disadvantaged elderly in dire need for economic support and providing them with the basic livelihood security would be the most important and imminent responsibility that we all should assume to prepare for the growing aged population, and this also should accompany measures to utilize the elderly workforce with enough capability and strong will to work.

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
• /
• 제22권2호
• /
• pp.7-14
• /
• 2016

Purpose: Caring for weak person in society, which increases the population of the elderly and people with disabilities is essential. By increasing along with the increase of the use of passenger facilities for travelers and pedestrian is increasing the demand for convenient and secure facilities for everyone. The emerging importance of the passenger-related facilities, but a representative study of the bus terminal facilities is lacking. Bus terminals are the most popular passenger facility. Thus, the bus terminal can be conveniently used by anyone in everyday life, however, the applied elements considering the use of the transportation Poor are not sufficient. Methods: This study was conducted to evaluate BF certification standards targeting bus terminals across the country to determine the availability of the transportation Poor in bus terminal. Result: As a result of the bus Terminal possibility BF certified it appeared to be very low. Also, items received the lowest rating of each item was evaluated in the informative facilities and items. Bus terminal is a facility used by the unspecified individuals, the proportion of first-time user is high, but there is a lack of consideration for the transportation Poor bus terminals. Implications: In the future, this study can guide the next research on the application of BF certification standards in bus terminal. Further studies can be presented to the improvement of the BF certification indicator in bus terminal.

• Korea journal of population studies
• /
• 제22권2호
• /
• pp.197-220
• /
• 1999

Family, Self or State as a Desired Source of Support for the Elderly As Korean society has undergone rapid socioeconomic transformation and reached the final stage of its demographic transition, the central emphasis of population policies in Korea has shifted from fertility and population control to aging issues. Recently, it has been advocated that the Korean government should provide more intensive public services to supplement self-care and family caregiving, heightening the need to know more about the norms and expectations of old-age support and how they will change. Using the Survey of the Living Status of the Korean Elderly in 1994, this study investigates the extent to which the Korean elderly themselves view family, self, or the state as desired sources of support. The multinomial log it model analysis reveals that the elderly without a son are less likely to emphasize the traditional view of family, while economically and physically better off elderly are more likely to favor the view of self-support. However, the idea that the emphasis on the 'state responsibility' may be found among those elderly who are in need of financial help and in poor health is not supported. The implications and suggestions for further research are discussed.

• Korean Journal of Hospice Care
• /
• 제5권1호
• /
• pp.50-62
• /
• 2005

The elderly people was over 8.3% in 2003. This seament is projected to grow to 14.4% by 2019(Aged society) and over 20% by 2026(Super aged society). As the elderly population is increasing and young population is declined social issues around elderly care are emerged in Korea. As a result of that, they are in the condition of poor system of the welfare of the old and it is the worst one in Korea. And because of the worst financial independence and difficulty in Korea, welfare facilities and medical instruments are so insufficient and deteriorated, so the quality of service is getting low. Furthermore the mortality of cancer is rapidely increased in recent years. So it is expected that the number of families who are caring for terminal cancer patient will be increased. We can not solve those problems only with government's policy such as to secure ample budget and to enlarge the aged welfare institutions. Definitely, to acheve the suggetions persistence concern about old people is most important, and family, community and national government should be linked to accomplish to goal. Accordingly, for this study attempts to provide conceptual framework of the respite care, spiritual care and home hospice, nursing home for the elderly. And this study is to discuss the necessity and effect about the construction of housing welfare infrastructure and to make a cooperation and linkage system among the aged welfare institutions, government and the aged welfare programs. As is well known, the issue of the increasing aged people is neither a matter of individuals nor of the family, but rather a complex matter of whol society. Therefore it can be resolved by the active participation of government. Conclusively this study tries to provide an direction of the improvement with regard to the welfare policy for the elderly. The study is as follwos: Chapters 1: The theological base, conception, essentiality, respite care, spiritual care and home hospice, nursing home for the elderly. Chapters 2: Definitions of respite care, spiritual care, hospice, patient of termina cancer and quality of life. And relations between respite care and nursing home. Chapters 3: The necessity of long-term care insurance and the perspectives of spiritual care. Chapters 4: Conclusions and summarizing(The directions of improvement of welfare policy for the elderly). To sum up, the problems of the aged people has not effects only to the aged people. This means that the problems of aged is the problems of the young generation today. Because young generation will be the old generation in the near future.

• The Korean Journal of Rehabilitation Nursing
• /
• 제5권2호
• /
• pp.180-192
• /
• 2002

The purpose of this study was to survey basic data for management of elderly day care centers. In this study, occupation, leisure life, and food, clothing and habituation, as well as social relationship, health state and behavior, and general characteristics of subjects were examined to identify the factors affecting their cognition, need and preference of the day care centers. The subjects of this study were 392 elderly, aged 60 years or over, living in Gangnung and neighboring districts. Data were collected by educated interviewers from November 4 through November 22, 2002. The subjects were interviewed face to face, one for one after the interviewee's agreements on the survey. The collected data were analysed with logistic regression analysis by SAS (statistical analysis system). Logistic regression analysis was done to identify affecting factors for cognition, need and preference of the elderly day care centers. The major findings are as follows: 1. The factors affecting cognition for the day care centers were analysed. The subjects with an occupation and a lower satisfaction level of living environment and friendship, who were economically secure enough to manage a sudden accident, showed a higher level of cognition of the day care centers. The subjects with a higher level of mental health state and a lower level of IADL also showed a higher level of cognition. On the general characteristics younger female subjects showed a higher level of cognition. 2. The subjects with a lower level of perceived economic condition who did not own their housing and were not economically safe enough to manage a sudden accident, had showed a higher level of need for the day care centers. It showed that the subjects with a high level of mental health state, a bad eye sight and dental condition, a good perceived health condition, and a lower level of IADL, needed the centers. 3. The subjects who had an occupation, however, not capable of making their own daily expenses, and a low occupation satisfaction level, and who did not own their housing, and were economically poor not enough to manage a sudden accident, showed a higher preference for the day care centers. The subjects with higher levels of friendship satisfaction and perceived health condition, not living with their spouse, and a higher education level, showed a higher preference for the centers. In conclusion, the common factors affecting their cognition, need and preference of the day care centers were occupation, economic security enough to manage accidents, and friendship satisfaction level. Especially, the subjects who had an occupation, however, not economically secure enough to manage accidents, and who did not live in their own housing with a good perceived health condition, showed high levels of need and preference for the day care centers. These results can be used as basic data to develop the efficient elderly day care centers, thus contribute to the elderly welfare in a local community.

• Smart Media Journal
• /
• 제12권11호
• /
• pp.175-184
• /
• 2023

The elderly in rural areas are faced with the dilemma of poor community environment, weak social communication ability and insufficient pension knowledge reserve. In addition, due to the serious shortage of social security facilities in rural areas and medical resources, the elderly are struggling, and the suicide rate is far higher than that in urban areas. In order to make the elderly have a comfortable pension environment and face the increasingly serious aging problem with a positive attitude, this paper takes the community environment of the Baima Tibetan elderly in Tielou Township, Gansu Province as the research object of aging transformation. First of all, literature data were used to carry out research on the aging transformation in rural areas. On the basis of sorting out previous research topics, ERG theory was determined as the guide. Secondly, the research methods of on-site investigation, interview and other research methods are adopted to investigate the number of left-behind elderly people in this area, and classify them according to the national standards. At the same time, the image of the current situation of the community environment of the elderly. Finally, combined with the ERG theory, the transformation design of the elderly living environment is implemented, mainly from the three aspects of survival, mutual relationship and growth.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
• /
• 제22권2호
• /
• pp.21-28
• /
• 2024

This study analyzed the current status of care policies and senior citizen issues in Korea, which has entered a super-aging society, and attempted to suggest improvement measures for desirable convergence policies. The problems of the elderly in Korea have emerged as health problems, poverty problems, loss of roles, and care problems due to changes in the concept of family, values, and socioeconomic structure. In addition, poor seniors need jobs and employment policies, and healthy middle-class seniors need policy development to enable leisure activities and volunteer activities. In particular, it is necessary to establish policies to enable people to spend the rest of their lives in elderly care facilities and elderly care hospitals through community care policies. The super-aging society accounts for more than 20% of the total population among those aged 65 or older, and according to the National Statistical Office, it is expected to become a super-aging society by 2025. Elderly welfare policies must provide various programs and the needs and services of elderly care, and in the future, a super-aging society will need to secure a lot of financial resources and maintain a productive population to cover the financial resources. In other words, the human life cycle is from birth to death, and when the ratio of natural deaths of the elderly and infants born is appropriate, the society and the country can be seen as stable, vibrant, and healthy societies.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
• /
• 제21권1호
• /
• pp.5-13
• /
• 2014

Objectives: Depression, sleep complaints and cognitive impairments are commonly observed in the elderly. Elderly subjects with depressive symptoms have been found to show both poor cognitive performances and sleep disturbances. However, the relationship between sleep complaints and cognitive dysfunction in elderly depression is not clear. The aim of this study is to identify the association between sleep disturbances and cognitive decline in late-life depression. Methods: A total of 282 elderly people who underwent nocturnal polysomnography in a sleep laboratory were enrolled in the study. The Korean version of the Neuropsychological Assessment Battery developed by the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD-K) was applied to evaluate cognitive function. Depressive symptoms were assessed with the geriatric depression scale (GDS) and subjective sleep quality was measured using the Pittsburg sleep quality index (PSQI). Results: The control group ($GDS{\leq}9$) when compared with mild ($10{\leq}GDS{\leq}16$) and severe ($17{\leq}GDS$) depression groups, had significantly different scores in the Trail making test part B (TMT-B), Benton visual retention test part A (BVRT-A), and Stroop color and word test (SCWT)(all tests p<0.05). The PSQI score, REM sleep duration, apnea-hypopnea index and oxygen desaturation index were significantly different across the three groups (all indices, p<0.05). A stepwise multiple regression model showed that educational level, age and GDS score were predictive for both TMT-B time (adjusted $R^2$=35.6%, p<0.001) and BVRT-A score (adjusted $R^2$=28.3%, p<0.001). SCWT score was predicted by educational level, age, apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) and GDS score (adjusted $R^2$=20.6%, p<0.001). Poor sleep quality and sleep structure alterations observed in depression did not have any significant effects on cognitive deterioration. Conclusion: Older adults with depressive symptoms showed mild sleep alterations and poor cognitive performances. However, we found no association between sleep disturbances (except sleep apnea) and cognitive difficulties in elderly subjects with depressive symptoms. It is possible that the impact of sleep disruptions on cognitive abilities was hindered by the confounding effect of age, education and depressive symptoms.