Survey of Public Health Service Needs of Live-Alone Elders in Urban Area

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The number and proportion of live-alone elders in Korea have been increasing dramatically. We tried to identify the physical health status of live-alone elders in community and their needs for public health service in order to provide basic data for effective public health service to promote health and quality of life. METHODS: The subjects for this study were 38 nurses who provide visit-nursing service to live-alone elders in Seoul and Kyunggi Province. Data were collected by semi-structured questionnaires. RESULTS: The half of live-alone elders had disease, but only half of them took appropriate treatment. Barrier to treatment were difficulty to access to medical center, immobility, lack of drive and also poor insight. CONCLUSION: To solve the problems related to the elderly living alone in community, the instillation of public health policy that encompass professional medical service and comprehensive team approach are needed.