• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.1-14
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• 2004

Although the proportion of frail elderly among the elderly population has been rapidly increasing, there is little preparation to provide housing alternatives for them in Korean society. Long-term care facility a housing alternative for frail elderly that enables them to receive social and medical care services that enhance the quality of their life. This research was conducted to study the opinions of middle-aged Koreans about long-term care facilities for the frail elderly. This study provides useful suggestions for the development of user-paid long-term care facilities in the near future. A survey questionnaire was administered to 600 adults in their 50s to collect data. The sample was stratified according to region, gender, and housing structure type. The results showed that most of the respondents were aware of long-term care facilities for the frail elderly; but they were relatively unwilling to live in these facilities, as compared to other housing alternatives. However, a larger number of respondents said that as they became very frail, they would be willing to live in these facilities. The respondents expressed a high level of need for user-paid long-term care facilities as an alternative to hospitalization. Also, they wanted to have a variety of long-term care facilities that are designed for different levels of disability. The education level of respondents and their spouses, average monthly income, subjective economic level, and religion were major variables that differentiated significantly the opinions about long-term care facilities for the frail elderly.

• 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.

• International Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.39-55
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• 2001

Concerns about paid-facilities for the elderly with dementia from middle and upper class families have been discussed lately in Korea. Small-scale, home-like group homes for the elderly with dementia were developed in Sweden in the 1980, but they have not been effectively introduced in Korea where they remain a comparatively new concept. The group home, however, would provide a good alternative to Koreans who feel guilty when they have to leave their frail parents in large-scale facilities or hospitals instead of caring for them at home. The aim of this paper is, first, to define the care of the demented elderly who come from upper and middle class families in Korea and, secondly, to discuss the need for group homes to help care for them. A survey was done by questionnaire and was answered by 577 respondents who belonged to middle and upper class families living in Korea in December 2000. Methods of analysis were frequency, mean, and Chi-square. The results of this study were as follows: 1) the traditional notion that the eldest son should be burdened with the primary responsibility for a demented parent has weakened remarkably; 2) a small-scale long-term care facility was considered the most desirable living environment for the demented elderly; 3) the facilities families needed for professional hospitals for victims of dementia, senior citizen centers, large and small-scale long-term care facilities, day-care centers, and short-stay and service housing. The study also revealed that there was low awareness of the group home. The most preferred type of structure for group homes was a single-family detached house, and the most preferred management system was small-scale that could create home-like atmosphere. Additionally the respondents wanted group homes to consist of 6-8 residents with 2-4 persons per room. The results of this study strongly suggest that policy makers should encourage the development of smallscale group homes as an alternative form of housing for the elderly with dementia.