J Korean Acad Community Health Nurs.  2019 Jun;30(2):234-242. 10.12799/jkachn.2019.30.2.234.

Older Adults' Perceptions of Age-friendliness with an Emphasis on Community Supports and Health Services in a City in South Korea

• Lee CY
• Cho B
• Cho Y
• Park YH

• KMID: 2451459
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.12799/jkachn.2019.30.2.234

Abstract

PURPOSE
This study tries to comprehend older adults' perspectives of community supports and health services in a South Korean city and identify important sociodemographic and health characteristics that affect their perspectives.
METHODS
166 older adults were involved in this cross-sectional study. Questions on background characteristics and community supports and health services criteria (categorized as service accessibility, offer of services, voluntary support, or emergency care planning) based upon the WHO's Age-Friendly Cities Guide were used. The data were analyzed using paired and independent t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and hierarchical multiple regression analyses.
RESULTS
Emergency care planning was rated as the most important by the participants (mean age=76.24 years, 22.9% male), while its current level of performance was lowly appraised (p<.001). The rated importance for each category differed based on individual characteristics. Depression (p=.016), older age (p=.012), and restricted network type (p=.039) were significantly related to ascribing a higher degree of importance to community services.
CONCLUSION
Community initiatives are warranted to optimize emergency care for older adults. This planning must be based on the unique characteristics of older adults in coordination with supportive resources. In addition, comprehensive assessments are warranted before implementing action plans to ensure that the multi-dimensional problems of older adults are incorporated.

Keyword

Healthy aging; Community health services; Perception; Korea

MeSH Terms

Adult
Community Health Services
Cross-Sectional Studies
Depression
Emergency Medical Services
Health Services*
Humans
Korea*
Social Welfare

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