Effects of Yangsaeng (Health Management) Therapy for Korean Older Adults in Nursing Home

Abstract

The number of older adults admitted to nursing homes is steadily increasing, and the health management for them is a very important issue in Korean society. This study aimed to examine the effects of Yangsaeng (health management) therapy on physical health status, depression, life satisfaction, and Yangsaeng (health management) of Korean older adults in nursing homes. A quasi-experimental study design using a pretest-posttest control group was employed. Study participants were a total of 80 older adults (intervention: n = 40, control: n = 40) in a nursing home in Seoul, South Korea. Yangsaeng therapy as an intervention consisted of the Meridian therapy and Qi-gong therapy. Yangsaeng therapy was conducted for 50 min per one time, twice a week, and for 10 weeks. Measures were general characteristics of study participants, Cornell Medical Index, Geriatric Depression Scale, life satisfaction scale, and Yangsaeng scale. Data were collected from April 2018 to March 2019. There were statistically significant differences on physical health status, depression, life satisfaction, and Yangsaeng between the two groups. Yangsaeng therapy was an effective intervention for improving physical health status, life satisfaction, and Yangsaeng, and for decreasing depression of older adults in nursing homes. Health care providers need to pay attention to Yangsaeng therapy as a Korean traditional intervention method for the health management of the older adults residing in nursing homes.

Effects of Cognitive/Exercise Dual-Task Program on the Cognitive Function, Health Status, Depression, and Life Satisfaction of the Elderly Living in the Community

“…In the intervention group, health status was significantly improved after participating in the cognitive/exercise dual-task program. This was consistent with the results of previous studies showing that various exercise programs were effective on the health status of the elderly [14,15,32]. In this study's cognitive/exercise dual-task program, it was confirmed that performing fumanet exercise with friends and sharing opinions using photo cards resulted in the health status improvement of the elderly living in the community.…”

“…This supports the results of this study by showing that exercise programs have a positive effect on the life satisfaction of the elderly. In addition, a previous study showed that life satisfaction was increased by performing exercise therapy for the elderly with low back pain [14]. Life satisfaction is a subjective feeling, and as the pain or stress chronically experienced by the elderly living in the community is reduced, satisfaction can increase.…”

“…In addition, as the suicide rate and poverty rate in old age are higher than in other life cycles [11], it is an urgent task to increase the life satisfaction of the elderly. The elderly's life satisfaction was said to have a positive effect on participation in sports or exercise [14].…”

“…Based on the results of the previous studies, various nonpharmacological interventions have been attempted to improve the cognitive and physical conditions of the elderly and manage the progression of dementia [2,[4][5][6]9,[14][15][16]. In particular, cognitive or exercise programs are being developed in various disciplines, such as medicine, psychology, rehabilitation, and sports [2,[6][7][8]13,15].…”

“…Based on previous studies [2,14,17,20,27,28], this study performed a dual-task program that combined reminiscence therapy, memory training program, and fumanet exercise in order to perform cognitive therapy and exercise therapy at the same time. Using the subject-expert interactive factors of Cox [30] as an intervention strategy, a comprehensive assessment on cognitive function, health status, depression, and life satisfaction of the elderly living in the community was performed (Figure 1).…”