This study was carried out to formulate health care strategies for Korean aged people.
Korean population is expected to enter an aging era from the year 2000, when the proportion of aged 65-year or over will reach around 7% of the population; it is estimated to be around 13% in the year 2000. The aging population may induce various new problems associated with care and welfare for the aged people as a social burden unless it is well planned ahead of time, developing health care strategies for them in order to maintain and promote their health´ life.
Thus in this study all relevant articles and information were reviewed thorough fully to identify current health status/problems of Korean aged, changing pattern of their role in family and community, welfare´ and health care system for. .: them, and comparison of similar systems in other countries.
On the basis of the review study results, a direction of future policy or strategies for care of aged population- arc proposed and discussed.
Results of the study summarized are as follows
1. The role and dignity of aged people at home have grown weaker resulting in strong preference of nuclear family system for both young and old age groups. Interestingly enough however, aged people had strong desire to be taken care by their children when they get sick while the young people wanted to share the responsibility of care for their sick parents with public system.
2. Health care needs for aged people have shown a great increase, particularly in appropriate treatment and follow-up care for chronic diseases and acute ill-defined conditions; in rehabilitation and training prograr5ns to restore their physical functions by rehabilitative treatment and learning skills of various prostheses use. Also an enormous need in educational program was noticed for prevention of accidents among aged copulation.
3. In utilization pattern of medical services, it is found that the cider aged over 70-year utilized local health center extensive) , owing to easy accessibility and affordability in terms of distance and cost. To render a good quality services for them equivalent to competent large scale hospital such as university or community general hospitals, local health centers should be reinforced geriatric medical services, short stay chronic disease ward´, and in particular rehabilitation service. Also functional reorganization of health sub-centers and community health practitioner posts is indispensable, transforming their major activity from serving visitors to visiting aged txople(homes. day care centers and etc_) for services ; health care services, home-helping services and health education jointly with existing community resource such as local women´s club.
4. Future policy for health care of aged should be oriented to sharing the responsibility equally between family and the government. which had been mainly family´s responsibility_ Primary concern on the health care program of aged should start with periodic medical examination, development of home care program, enforced and mandatory requirements for safe living environments, and financial support for prostheses(optical glasses, hearing aids, wheelchairs, safety sticks, and etc. to improve their functions in daily living) for those who can not afford by themselves.
5. Specialized institutes for the care of aged need to be established; chronic hospitals specialized in geriatrics with rehabilitation services, day care centers, public and private nursing homes and recreation facilities in the community to promote quality of fife for the aged people.
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