The Perceived Discomfort in the Daily Activities of Korean Elderly

Abstract

The objective of this study is to investigate a perceived discomfort and cause of Korean elderly in various activities such as work and leisure as well as in daily activities. 120 subjects (30 female and 30 male for each age: the young and elderly) participated in the interview type of questionnaire. Each participant answered to 41 items of activities of daily living. The examination of each item was progressed with 3 steps: whether to do the activity or not, degree of activity discomfort, and the reasons or causes of discomfort. Borg's CR10 scale is used to measure the degree of discomfort of daily activities. As a result, there are differences for the proportion of performers between two age groups, except for essential activities such as individual maintenance and housekeeping. The elderly complained about their daily activities more than the young did, and the degree of discomfort of women was significantly larger than that of men with aging. There are seven items, the mean degree of discomfort of which is over three points for the elderly, and they showed significant difference between two age groups. It was the important reason that physical capacities such as muscle strength and suppleness are declined. The results showed the characteristics of Korean elderly in the whole daily activities. These will be used to understand various life styles of them and to propose a field or direction of study related to the aging.