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Background Receiving timely health screening is associated with important public health benefits among older adults. By focusing on the role of social relationships, the present study was aimed at examining longitudinal trajectories of health screening use among older adults in Korea, whose universal health care system provides free-of-charge health screening. Methods A nationally representative sample of 3,575 individuals aged 65 or older from wave one of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (2006) was followed for 10 years (up to Wave 6, 2016). Mixed-effect logit models were used to investigate how an older adult’s social relationship characteristics (i.e., household composition, financial support from family, social group participation, and the frequency of contact with friends or relatives) were associated with their trajectories of participation in the national health screening program. Results Despite the low financial burden, only 49.7% of older adults in Korea reported receiving the recommended health screening at the baseline. Although the probability of receiving recommended health screening increased over the 10-year study period, the trajectories were significantly different by an older adult’s social relationship characteristics. All four social relationship characteristics were significantly associated with receiving health screening. However, those with more frequent social contacts and those who participated in social groups showed steeper increases in the probability of receiving health screening (i.e., significant interaction with time). Conclusions This study highlights the importance of social relationships and intervention approaches that accommodate socially isolated older adults to facilitate their timely receipt of recommended preventive care.

Synthesis of the C1–C13 fragment of eribulin mesylate has been accomplished. It features a highly stereoselective construction of a trans-dihydropyran framework using three key reactions: (1) Sharpless epoxidation, (2) regioselective ring opening, and (3) olefin metathesis.

Background Studies that examined changes in frailty in older populations have been increasing. However, frailty patterns are often portrayed as having single trajectories corresponding to age, and different courses of change in frailty and related factors remain unexplored. Objectives We aimed to identify distinct frailty trajectories over time and examine the relationship of frailty trajectories with the sociodemographic and lifestyle-related factors among older Koreans. Methods We used data of 3160 community-dwelling Korean adults aged ≥65 years from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (2006–2016). We conducted the analyses using group-based trajectory modeling, analysis of variance or chi-square tests, and multinomial logistic regression. Results We identified three frailty trajectory groups among older Koreans: no frailty, increasing frailty, and high frailty based on a deficit-related frailty measure. Each frailty trajectory group showed unique sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics. Compared to individuals in the no frailty group, those in the increasing frailty group were more likely to be older, less educated, unemployed, current smokers, and current drinkers. Compared to those in the no frailty group, individuals in the high frailty group were more likely to be older, unemployed, current drinkers, and without regular exercise. Conclusions Using longitudinal data over a 10-year period, we identified multiple frailty trajectories in a cohort of older Koreans, which highlights a significant heterogeneity in frailty development. Our findings suggest the importance of socioeconomic status in determining different patterns of frailty change and the role of lifestyle factors in delaying frailty.

Despite rapid social change that has influenced the social status of older adults, expectations about their behaviour and whether such expectations differ across generations remain unexplored in Korea. Based on ageing theories of activity, disengagement and modernisation, this study investigated age norms among Koreans conceptualised as shared expectations of appropriate behaviours of older adults. Competing perspectives in intergenerational relations and prejudice toward older adults were examined to test if they influenced age norms and if such associations varied across different age groups. Data were analysed from a survey of 1,445 individuals aged 20 and above who resided in 16 administrative districts of Korea. Comparisons of age norms across age groups indicated that the older adult group (age 65+) held more restrictive attitudes about social participation and engagement in various behaviours in old age than the middle-aged adults (ages 45–64) and younger adults (ages 20–44). Respondents with more prejudice towards older adults tended to place more restrictions on the behaviour of older adults. A significant interaction indicated that respondents whose views were in line with a generational conflictive perspective, assessed as reporting more competitive perspectives between young and old people and being less supportive of intergenerational programmes, had a more restrictive view about older adults' behaviours among the middle-aged group but less restrictive attitudes in determining acceptable behaviour in later life among the older adult group.

This study aims to understand potential gender differences in the association between job characteristics and job satisfaction among older workers. The data are from 506 males and 202 females older than 55 from the first wave of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing(KLoSA). Analyses focused on examining gender differences in the influences of subjective evaluation of work characteristics measured with education and skill fits of the work, work demands, customary early retirement, as well as more objective job conditions assessed with insurances by the employer, work hours, and salary on job satisfaction. Regression analyses revealed that female workers showed higher job satisfaction while job characteristics worked differently between genders to affect job satisfaction. For males, fitting the job with education and job demands were determining factors of job satisfaction, while the job with skills and work hours appeared to be significant factors for females. Results suggest that opportunities to utilize older workers` human capital and flexible working hours, especially for females workers would be helpful in promoting older adults` employment and satisfaction about their work.

The present study aims to explore career maturity and influencing factors among elementary schoolers from poor families in Korea. Data are from 249 welfare recipient children in 10 administrative districts of Incheon. Scores of the work attitudes subdomain was lower than other aspects of career maturity including planning, self-appraisal, and independence in career decision-making. In the full sample, those in the higher academic years showed greater career maturity, planning, and self-appraisal, and those with greater parent attachment showed higher levels of self-appraisal. In separate analyses by gender, parent attachment showed greater influence on girls’ career maturity. Finding from the separate analyses on lower vs. higher academic years (i.e. grades) revealed that parent attachment and female were associated with career maturity among lower graders, while academic achievement was associated with career maturity, planning, and self-appraisal among those in higher graders. Findings lend support to parental involvement in career education. Poor children might have limited perceptions of career focused on satisfying economic necessities. Career education should pay attention in helping them expand perceptions of the values of career.

Objectives The South Korean government required the submission of economic evidence when it implemented the Positive-List System in December 2006. This study investigates the key factors that influenced actual public insurance reimbursement decisions, including the role of economic evidence, after 10 years of decision practice under compulsory health technology assessment (HTA) for new drugs. Method Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the impact of the variables involved, including cost-effectiveness ratio as a key variable, on reimbursement decisions. The latter were defined as “yes” or “no” at a submitted price and indication. Only cases (n = 91) that present a cost-effectiveness ratio, and that have been reviewed based on this ratio from January 2007 to December 2016, were included in the analysis. Results Cases with higher cost-effectiveness ratios were less likely to be accepted. In addition, drugs that were used to treat severe diseases and drugs with no substitute were more likely to be recommended. The probability of acceptance declined along with the level of uncertainty in the submitted evidence. The acceptance rate for severe-disease drugs has increased since 2013, when the government introduced several policies that lowered the existing barriers to positive reimbursement. However, such an increase was not statistically significant. Conclusions Cost-effectiveness is one of the most influential factors in drug-reimbursement decisions. However, inclusion of other explanatory variables, in addition to the cost-effectiveness ratio, predicted the results of decisions more accurately.

Objective. Our aim was to examine whether engagement in productive activities, including volunteering, paid work, and childcare, protects older adults against the development of geriatric frailty. Methods. Data from the first (1988) and second (1991) waves of the macArthur Study of Successful Aging, a prospec- tive cohort study of high-functioning older adults aged 70-79 years ( n = 1,072), was used to examine the hypothesis that engagement in productive activities is associated with lower levels of frailty 3 years later. Results. Engagement in productive activities at baseline was associated with a lower cumulative odds of frailty 3 years later in unadjusted models (odds ratio (OR) = 0.74, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.58-0.96) but not after adjusting for age, disability, and cognitive function (adjusted OR = 0.78, 95% CI = 0.60-1.01). Examination of productive activity domains showed that volunteering (but neither paid work nor childcare) was associated with a lower cumulative odds of frailty after adjusting for age, disability, and cognitive function. This relationship diminished and was no longer statisti - cally significant after adjusting for personal mastery and religious service attendance. Discussion. Though high-functioning older adults who participate in productive activities are less likely to become frail, after adjusting for age, disability, and cognitive function, only volunteering is associated with a lower cumulative odds of frailty.

Purpose: This study uses the selection, optimization, and compensation (SOC) model to compare older adults who have given up driving, those who still drive, and those who drive less to identify differences in the three groups. Design and Methods: This cross-sectional study of 281 older adults is part of the Naturally Occurring Retirement Community Demonstration Project. Study participants completed interviews that included questions on demographics, health and functioning, mental health, social support, and current levels of engagement in activities including current driving status. Results: Data suggest that driving retirement is a process and that a substantial number of people are in the transitional stage, where they are less functional than those who still drive and more similar to those who have retired from the road. Implications: Given the similarity of those who drive less to those who have given up driving, front-line professionals and policy makers must work together to ease the transition to d...

East and South Asian male immigrants show markedly low odds of prostate cancer screening as compared to U.S.-born men. However, knowledge about these immigrants’ culture-based screening behavior and barriers to screening is extremely limited. This study investigates factors influencing receipt of prostate cancer screening among Korean American immigrant men, particularly investigating culture’s impact on screening behaviors. Data were collected through a convenience and purposive sampling technique from 134 Korean American males aged 50 and older recruited in New York City. A structured questionnaire was used and cultural variables were measured by adopting items from Tang and colleagues’ work. Approximately 60 % of the sample had received a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test in their lifetime, and of these, about 66 % reported having done so in the previous 12 months. Logistic regression analysis revealed that a crisis-oriented intervention approach was associated with a substantially reduced likelihood of screening. A positive correlation was noted between the use of Eastern medicine and PSA test receipt. Further analysis revealed a significant interaction effect between use of Eastern medicine and age in predicting PSA test uptake. Culture-specific intervention strategies for increasing prostate cancer screening in this group are discussed, with particular attention to increasing pertinent health literacy. Health professionals should consider the cultural domain when working with Korean immigrant men in order to provide culturally competent care.