대도시 영세 독거노인의 건강 및 영양상태에 관한 연구 = A Study on Health and Nutrition Status of Elderly Poor People Living Alone

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The purpose of this study was to identify the health and nutrition status of elderly poor people living alone and to develop basic data for improvement of health and nutrition by analyzing the relationship between them. The participants were 130 elderly people registered D public health center in Busan. Data collection was done for 2 months from December 20, 2001 to January 20, 2002. Data analysis was done using frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviation, Pearson correlation coefficient, and t/F-test with SPSS WIN 10.0.
The major findings are as follows:
1. Women accounted for 84.6% of the participants, average age was 72.02±4.70, 60.8% were illiterate, average length of time living alone was 19.49±13.85 years, 93.1% were sick and the major disease was arthritis, 46.9% skipped meals and for 26.2% the main reason was no appetite. Irregular diet was found in 76.1% of the participants. Body fat for men was 24.95% and for women, 34.81%. Obesity in men was 55.0% and women, 40.0%, WHR for men was 0.93 and for women, 0.95. Abdominal obesity was found in 10% of men and 90.9% of women, indicating a serious problem for elderly women.
2. The mean scores for physical status and mental status were 87.74±4.71 and 69.60±6.78 respectively indicating good physical and mental status. The mean score for emotional status was only 30.34±9.00 indicating poor emotional status. The nutrition awareness checklist score was 10.13±2.19 indicating a high 97.7% were in the high risk group for nutritional problems.
3. There were correlations between physical and mental (r=. 549), physical and emotional (r=.311), mental and emotional status (r=-. 369). There was a converse correlation between emotional status and nutrition status (r=-.364). Women and those who were illiterate had poorer health. To sum up, it is necessary to improve the nutrition status of elderly people through the expansion of free meal service, economic support, nutrition education, and health promotion. These services can be achieved by managing chronic diseases through home nursing, accurately understanding health and nutrition in elderly people and preparing emotional support programs in cooperation with social welfare centers.