Active Aging In Long-Term Care Facilities In Korea : Beyond The Lexical Meaning

ABSTRACT

The discourse of active aging, as introduced by the WHO, aims at optimizing older adults’ opportunities for health, participation, and security that could eventually enhance their social integration and quality of life. Considering that even those with frailty could strive for active aging in the given circumstances, we examined the meaning of active aging in long-term care settings and care strategies to promote it based on the WHO’s framework. We conducted interviews with a total of 35 participants. The interpretative analyses revealed that the activities taken place in LTCFs have various scopes depending on older adults’ physical and cognitive functional ability, and it captures the forms of activities that go beyond its lexical meaning. By defining being “active,” the present findings could contribute to an understanding of how the three elements of active aging can be carried out in LTCFs.

KEYWORDS:

• Institutional care/residential care
• quality of life
• framework analysis

Notes

¹ In accordance with the Articles 15 and 16 of the Long-Term Care Insurance Act (Act no. 16369), the eligibility for long-term care services is assessed based on an applicant’s mental and physical functions and conditions. A long-term care approval score indicating how much help is necessary for daily life is calculated, and it decides the type of long-term care benefits one can get. Grades 1 (score > 95) or 2 (75 ≤ score < 95) are given to those who require help in all or most parts of daily life, respectively, and these groups of older adults are eligible for both care services provided in LTCFs and in-home services. Grades 3 (60 ≤ score < 75) or 4 (51 ≤ score < 60) are given to those who require help in some or small parts of daily life, whereas grade 5, which has been implemented since 2014, is a special grade for older adults with dementia (45 ≤ score < 51). Older adults with grades 3, 4, and 5 are entitled to in-home services (National Health Insurance Service (NHIS), 2020).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the National Research Foundation of Korea [(NRF-2018S1A5A8027878)].