A Structural Relational Analysis of the Determinants of Functional Status in Korean Rural Elderly People

Kong, Eun Suk

Abstract

This study was conducted to develop a theoretical model for the determinants of activities of daily living in Korean rural elderly people. The theoretical model was derived from Lawton's Ecological Model to explain human behavior. The model includes determinant variables for functional status such as age, sex, physical status, cognitive status, physical environment, social environment, and depression. Data for this study was collected from 189 elderly people in a rural district near Chonju City. The data was analyzed with SPSS PC+ 4.1 and LISREL 8. The analysis of the data showed that the first proposed theoretical model did not fit the collected data well. In order to increase the fit of the model to the data, the model was modified by deleting the exogenous variables of sex, physical environment, and social environment. The fit of the modified model to the data was increased and was move suitable. The results of this study show that the determinants of the activities of Korean rural elderly people were age, perceived physical condition, cognitive status, and depressional status. Age has a significant direct and indirect effect on the activities of daily living of rural elderly people. Perceived physical condition has a significant indirect effect through depression on activities of daily living. Cognitive status also has a significant indirect effect through depression of functional status. Depression has a significant direct effect on the functional status. Physical environment and social environment showed reversal relationships to functional status. In conclusion, the results of this study show that personal characteristic factors are more important than environmental characteristic factors for functional status of elderly people. However, the importance of depression to functional status in korean rural elderly people and the reverse relationship between social environment and functional status, reflect Korean specificity. Korean nursing needs to focus more on this Korean specificity in order to develop nursing knowledge and practice appropriate to Korea people.