• Korean Institute of Interior Design Journal
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.33-41
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• 2013

It is not surprising that senior centers are widely used nationwide as Korea becomes an aging society. This study attempts to figure out senior citizens' needs and evaluations of senior centers in terms of characteristics of their usage and spatial composition. A face to face interview using a questionnaire was conducted on 255 senior citizens who has been using senior centers located in Jangyu new city apartment housing complex. The questionnaire is composed of questions asking characteristics of their usage, evaluations of spatial composition, and respondents' demographic data. Findings are: First, it is found that many respondents visit senior centers everyday and spend 4 to 6 hours a day. Their main activities are meeting friends, taking hobbies, and dining. That is, senior centers play a pivotal role in daily lives of senior citizens. Such characteristics should be taken into account in space design when planning to build a future senior center; Second, it is found that senior centers play a role of auxiliary space for building their sense of belonging and familarity. It is found that furnitures in senior centers are worn out and safety measures are not sufficiently considered; Third, it is found that they highly evaluate flexible spacial composition that could be partitioned or extended depending on occasions even though they prefer independent space; Fourth, it is found that kitchen facilities are not large enough considering the fact that more that half of the respondents have their lunches in senior centers. Even though they do not cook for themselves kitchen space should be large enough for preparing meals simultaneously for a large number people.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Rural Architecture
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.27-34
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• 2021

The senior welfare centers should provide integrated welfare services to the elderly whose needs are in change. So this paper tried to find a direction for improvement by identifying the spatial organization of the centers which are in Yeosu, Suncheon and Gwangyang. Classification of spaces of senior welfare center followed the guidelines 2020 for senior welfare center from Ministry of Health and Welfare which are consultation, medical rehabilitation, day or short-term protection, social education, home welfare, employment, welfare and public relations and PR planning and by adding management and public space. The above factors are invested and analyzed. The results of the survey and analysis of seven senior welfare centers are as follows. First, in the survey, the spatial organization of the senior welfare centers surveyed showed that the larger the size is, the dominantly lager the social education space is. Second, the space for day or short-term care, and employment is less than 1% of the total area, and most senior welfare centers do not have a basic space for this. Third, the space related to home welfare and counseling is very small, and more than half of the senior welfare centers do not have space related to it.

• Journal of the Architectural Institute of Korea Planning & Design
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.21-30
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• 2020

This study explores institutions that provide comprehensive services to senior citizens, including welfare, healthcare, and housing support. These institutions can be defined as centers that offer continual care and carry out policies related to senior citizens. In such institutions, senior citizens have access to information about aging and senior services. First, this study reviewed prior research on senior comprehensive support institutions and their accessibility, and the data led to several findings about the needs of the senior citizens and the proper locations of senior comprehensive support institutions. And this study used surveys to gather information on senior citizens' perceptions of services at such institutions. The survey results indicated that the elderly agreed with the priorities of comprehensive support institutions, and that it would be more convenient to visit such institutions if there were more than one per Dong (administrative district of Seoul). In response to these results, the ideal radius of each administrative district in the metropolitan area of Korea was investigated. Finally, the study also discussed the adequacy of this distance in comparison to that of current institutions in Japan. Combining these results, the study concludes that comprehensive support institutions for the citizens should be created and suggests appropriate distances and locations of such institutions.

• Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.71-84
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• 2000

This paper presents the status of nutrition education for older adults in Korea, and examines considerations in developing effective nutrition education programs for the elderly based on literature reviews. Finally, strategies of nutrition education for older adults in Korea are examined. Status of nutrition education were examined by surveying 90 senior centers, and 46 public health centers providing nutrition services. Most senior centers(96%) provided health education programs, however, nutrition was only a part of health programs. Among the 41 public health centers which responded to the survey, 73.1% provided nutrition education for older adults. The frequently covered topics were prevention & management of hypertension/stroke, diabetes, nutritional management during later adulthood, and osteoporosis. Common barriers in planning and implementing elderly education were; lack of educational materials for older adults, reliance on lectures, difficulty in following-up. To develop effective nutrition education, four stages consisting of needs assessment, planning and implementation of programs, and evaluation should be carefully done. Needs assessment might be done using quantitative or qualitative assessment. Factors influencing nutrition behavior of older adults can be systematically examined using a theoretical approach such as the PRECEDE-PROCEED framework. Qualitative methods, such as focus group interviews, also provide insightful information regarding the needs of older adults. In planning nutrition education programs, physical and pshychological changes associated with aging should be considered. Literature regarding elderly education suggest that active participation or participatory learning is also effective for older adults. Educational materials are developed following the principle of KISS and pre-tested. Program evaluation has been rarely done in practice, although it provides valuable feedback to the program. Strategies for developing nutrition education for Korean elderly include; performing needs assessment, developing a standard program by topics in a logical and systematic way, developing programs for subgroups of elderly, applying diverse education methods developing educational materials for the elderly, evaluating programs using simple tools, and delivering a nutrition program as a part of health promotion program. Finally, the interaction and communication between researchers and practitioners is strongly recommended to ensure better nutrition education and services to the elderly.

• Perspectives in Nursing Science
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.96-109
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• 2016

Purpose: The purposes of this study were to develop a nursing assessment tool for senior center nurses, and to test its feasibility and content validity. Methods: The study utilized a psychometric test design. Preliminary items were developed based on geriatric health needs and Gordon's 11 domains of functioning health. Initially, the tool was evaluated for content validity and feasibility. Then, it was administered among 195 older adults in a senior center by a gerontological nurse practitioner. Data were analyzed to describe the nursing problems of the senior center older adults. Results: The final version of the nursing assessment tool consisted of 27 items. The internal consistency, measured with the Cronbach's ${\alpha}$, was .74. The result of the assessment showed that senior center older adults had high nursing needs in the area of management of chronic diseases (hypertension, diabetes, and lipids), dental care, community relations, safety, elder abuse, health behaviors (such as drinking), mental health (depression, suicide, and cognitive function), and health consultations. Conclusion: The new tool was feasible for use with senior center participants, and it was evaluated as having high content validity by senior center nurses.

• Korean Institute of Interior Design Journal
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.62-71
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• 2007

Due to the shortage of elderly care services in urban areas, multi-functional welfare facilities are proven to be very effective for delivering various service needs of elderly in Japan. Introduction of new longterm care policy for elderly in Korea would change many aspects of elderly care service facilities. Especially elderly home care services like adult daycare centers will expand drastically after beginning of elderly longterm care insurance. The purpose of this research is to study and analyze multi-functional welfare facilities in Japan focusing on the types of day service in those facilities. Planning of daycare centers in multi-functional welfare facilities for the elderly can be classified to 8 types. Those types are daycare centers with senior housing, longterm care insurance facilities, senior centers, small multi-function facility, medical facilities, educational facilities, community facilities and general housing projects. Each type has different benefits for the networking of services for the elderly. Design of daycare centers in multi-functional welfare facilities have distinctive features in entrance and user approach, space allocation and circulation planning. The study of daycare centers and multi-function planning should be followed to make better home care environments for the elderly in Korea.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.236-244
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• 2015

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate physical activity of elderly women at senior citizen centers and to identify factors influencing physical activity. Methods: The study was conducted from February 22 to April 20, 2013 for 200 elderly women at senior citizen centers in J City. Levels of physical activity, cognitive function, and nutritional status were measured. Results: The total physical activity amount was $2118.94{\pm}2.36$ MET-min. The average cognitive function score was $21.17{\pm}4.63$, and the average nutritional status score was $24.04{\pm}3.37$. There were significant relationships among physical activity, cognitive function, and nutritional status. In addition, there were significant differences of groups of physical activity by levels of cognitive function and nutritional status. Cognitive function, nutritional status, and age were significantly associated with level of physical activity in elderly women. Conclusion: The results showed many older women were doing moderate physical activity. Physical activity was associated with cognitive function and nutritive conditions. Integrated health promotion program needs to be implemented to increase physical activity level, the cognitive function, and nutritive conditions in elderly women.

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.27-35
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• 2007

According to the 2005 Korean census, the 65 and over population now exceeds 9.5% of the total population and is growing rapidly. Meeting elderly environment and care needs of this rapidly growing segment of the population becomes a major challenge for public policies and planners. Since great deal amount of elderly will reside in their houses, aging in place concept becomes important. For the success of aging in place, the quality of individual house unit, community support systems, and quality of senior center of the community are crucial. Since elderly environments and facilities serve not only medical and/or care programs but also social activity program in aging society, senior centers need to promote social activities and other care programs. The purpose of this study is to analyze characteristics of environmental affordance of a well received senior center in Tokyo, Japan. In order to analyze the characteristics, Murtha & Lee user benefit criteria and Lawton's environmental affordance approaches were used. As results, design characteristics and interior elements which provide environmental affordance were enumerated by type of space. Based on needs and user benefit criteria, those features were analyzed. This study shows design characteristics, elements, and attributes which are well received and utilized by elderly users.

• Design Convergence Study
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.171-186
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• 2016

With the continuous rise of elderly population and rapid progression of aging in our society, greater emphasis is placed on the importance of local seniors welfare centers as representative service space that meets the diverse needs of local residents. In addition, there is a growing tendency among current users to seek high-quality service as their educational level, economic ability and lifestyle have changed for the better compared to past generations. Accordingly, this study analyzed the satisfaction of senior welfare centers according to life-style type of the elderly, using a lifestyle measurement tool which incorporates indicators of gerontographics. A survey was conducted with users of seven senior welfare centers located in Seoul. Analysis results are as follows: First, four types of lifestyle were derived through cluster analysis; independent activity type, protective activity type, active challenge type, and passive challenge type. Second, it was found that the overall satisfaction of seniors welfare centers by the life-style of the elderly is highest for the protective activity type followed by the passive challenge type, the active challenge type, and the independent activity type. Third, upon examining the effect of spatial characteristics of welfare centers on the satisfaction of elderly users by type of lifestyle, it was found that the independent activity type and the passive challenge type users are most influenced by intimacy, the protective activity type users by comfort, and the active challenge type users by convenience.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.65-74
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• 2016

Objectives: This study was performed to investigate the nutritional status, health conditions, eating habits and experience and demand for nutrition dietary management of senior citizens. And these data are formed foundation of development of nutrition dietary management education program and contents in welfare facilities for the aged. Methods: We visited 3 public health centers, 3 senior citizens centers, and 4 welfare centers in Seoul, Gyeonggi-do, Chungnam province, and Daejeon area and carried out interview by semi-structured questionnaire for senior citizens older than 65 years who use those facilities. Results: The study included 17%, 30.7% and 52.3% of senior citizens from public health centers, seniorcitizen centers and and welfare centers, respectively. The age range of 43.9% of the population was 65-74 years and and 56.1% were older than 75 years. We observed that 83.2% of subjects took some medicines due to diseases that they have and 58.0% took prescription medicines for hypertension. The thing that they considered the most when selecting food was 'the taste'(p<0.05). Regarding the level of practice to keep the dietary life, they answered more than 'average' for most of items but answered less than 'average' for lot of salt intake, drinking, exercise. For the experience of nutrition dietary life education, only 19.8% answered 'Yes' and the service for nutrition dietary life management showed the highest score in the demand for 'provide nutritious food'. For the size of consulting group for nutrition/dietary life education, the public health center and welfare center preferred a larger group size but the senior citizens center preferred a smaller group. With regard to who will carry out the consulting, the demand for dietitian was the highest and the operation type showed the high demand in the order of consulting, education. The contents that they want to have consultation in nutrition dietary life education were diet therapy for diseases and the ordinary diet therapy for health. Conclusions: This study suggested the management of nutrition dietry life necessitates qualitative measures according to the different types of welfare facilities. For these, it is in need of development of counseling and education program included therapy for disease. Above all, the policy to secure dietitian of welfare facilities for the aged to perform these should be achived.