PURPOSE: The goal of this study was to investigate the factors influencing health promoting behaviors in elderly individuals according to types of residency. METHOD: This was a descriptive study. The subjects were comprised of 243 elderly aged 65 years or over living in 3 large cities. The instruments used for this study were a health promoting lifestyle, perceived health status, geriatric depression short form scale-Korea, social support scale, and self-efficacy. The data was analyzed using SPSS Win 12.0. RESULT: Powerful predictors of a health promoting lifestyle were depression, self-efficacy, and perceived health status for the elderly living at home. In the cases of the elderly living in institutions, a powerful predictor of a health promoting lifestyle was identified as social support. CONCLUSION: For the operation of long-term care insurance, a service for home care programs is needed for the elderly living at home in order to reduce depression and to increase self-efficacy and perceived health status. In addition, social support provided by health-care professionals should be developed to promote a healthy lifestyle for the elderly living in institutional environments.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Geriatric Nursing ; *Health Behavior ; *Health Promotion ; *Housing ; Housing for the Elderly ; Humans ; Male ; Models, Psychological ; Self Efficacy ; Social Support

PURPOSE: We made a clinical comparison of elderly patients from home and residential aged care facilities (RACFs) who visited the emergency department and were hospitalized with acute ischemic stroke. In addition, we investigated the factors associated with prehospital delay in acute ischemic stroke. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted in a public hospital between January 2013 and December 2016. Information regarding the patients was registered including gender, age, comorbidities, symptoms at onset, use of emergency medical services, National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) at the emergency department, symptom-to-door time, etc. Characteristics of the patients were analyzed and logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify factors associated with symptom-to-door time. RESULTS: A total of 402 patients were enrolled during the study period. Overall, 339 elderly patients visited from home and 63 patients from RACFs, and patients from home were divided into two groups, living with family (n=274) and living alone (n=65). Patients from RACFs were older (≤0.001) and had higher NIHSS (p=0.007) than patients from home, but there were no significant relationships between symptom-to-door time and age (p=0.525), NIHSS (p=0.428). There was no difference in symptom-to-door time between patients living with family and patients from RACFs, but patients living alone had delayed symptom-to-door time (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Elderly patients living alone were among the three groups that had the most delayed symptom-to-door time. Therefore, it is necessary to expand and supplement support for elderly patients living alone, as well as to improve education regarding acute ischemic stroke.
Aged ; Cerebral Infarction ; Comorbidity ; Education ; Emergency Medical Services ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Hospitals, Public ; Housing for the Elderly ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Nursing Homes ; Retrospective Studies ; Stroke ; Transportation of Patients

BACKGROUND: Several studies have evaluated risk factors for falls; however, the risk factors for recurrent falls are poorly understood. Therefore, this study evaluated the prevalence and factors associated with recurrent falls.METHODS: This study included 250 patients aged over 65 years, all of whom visited the emergency department (ED) at Seoul Medical Center following a fall from January 2016 to December 2017. We reviewed the patients' medical records for demographic data and medical history. Previous fall history, use of gait-aids, residence type, and fall recurrence were assessed via individual telephone calls.RESULTS: During the follow-up period, 21.6% (n=54) of the 250 subjects experienced recurrent falls. Logistic regression analyses showed that fall recurrence was significantly associated with a previous fall history and the residence type. Subjects who lived in basement-level residences had a significantly higher risk of fall recurrence compared to those who lived in ground-level residences (odds ratio, 8.910; 95% confidence interval, 1.082–73.366).CONCLUSION: This study revealed a high incidence of fall recurrence in older adults who visited the ED due to falls. Our results suggest that careful evaluation and intervention are essential, especially in elderly individuals with fall histories and those who live in residences associated with ncreased risk of falls.
Accidental Falls ; Adult ; Aged ; Emergencies ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Follow-Up Studies ; Housing for the Elderly ; Humans ; Incidence ; Logistic Models ; Medical Records ; Prevalence ; Recurrence ; Risk Factors ; Seoul ; Telephone