Rationale.This study aims to investigate the correlation between the available leisure activity time and life satisfaction of the healthy elderly and the factors affecting them.Method.For the analysis, data from the 2014 Time Use Survey (2014TUS) published by Statistics Korea (KOSTAT) was used. This study classified the detailed activities of 9228 subjects, based on the data in 2014TUS, and analyzed the differences in time use for occupation domains by age group.Results.It was found that a greater amount time used for outdoor leisure activities yielded a higher life satisfaction value. Differences were found in time use by occupation domains between younger and older groups. These showed higher life satisfaction for those with spouses, regular full-time jobs, higher education, and better health.Conclusion.Based on these results, in order to improve the quality of life (QoL) for older adults, it is necessary to develop various leisure programs that require dynamic physical activities and to prepare alternative policies at the national level to promote participation in leisure activities by older adults. This study will provide occupational therapists (OTs) with data they can use to help older adults who have difficulty in time usage through time management intervention to improve their life satisfaction and QoL.

Background This study was conducted to determine the scale and the nature of the economic burden caused by strokes and to use the results as an evidential source for determining the allocation of South Korea stroke cases in 2015. Methods For research subjects, the study analyzed demographic characteristics and economic burden based on data from national health insurance (NHI) claims for inpatient and outpatient cases of ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic stroke in 2015 through the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) and statistical data regarding cause of death from the Korea National Statistical Office (KNSO). This study, in order to estimate economic burden due to stroke, deduced the direct and indirect costs of illness caused by stroke, using cost-of-illness (COI) methods. The economic burden is divided into direct and indirect costs, and indirect cost is estimated by summing lost productivity measured in opportunity cost lost by medical disposition due to a specific disease and lost productivity due to premature death. Results The total economic burden in Korea due to stroke was US$6.855 billion, that due to ischemic stroke was US$3.658 billion, and that due to hemorrhagic stroke was US$3.197 billion. The average economic burden per stroke case was about US$7247. Conclusion The results of estimating the annual economic burden in all of Korea due to stroke will be used as an evidential source for preparing medical insurance policies, priorities, and plans for arranging medical resources for stroke as well as for determining effective prevention of the disease and related priorities in national health care policies.

Purpose: This study aims to provide evidence of the benefits and effects of environmental modification intervention on activities of daily living, quality of life and social participation in older adults. Methods: This study searched and used randomized controlled trial research studies from the databases of MEDLINE, CINAHL and the Cochrane Library. A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted using the Jadad scale, risk of bias and the patient, intervention, comparison, outcome (PICO) process. The domains of impact considered in this meta-analysis were activities of daily living, quality of life and social participation. The analysis was completed with the Review Manager software 5.3. Results: Jadad scores of collected studies were 3–4 in seven studies and 2 in one study, which means that most studies had high levels of quality. This study comprised of 733 subjects in the experimental group and 672 subjects in the control group. The effect size of environmental interventions on basic activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living and overall activities of daily living were 0.37, 0.65 and 0.47, respectively. Meanwhile, the environmental intervention was neither effective on quality of life nor social participation. Conclusions: Environmental modifications are effective in facilitating the daily life activities of older adults. This kind of intervention is shown to be useful for enhancing life performance. In order to confirm intervention effects on the quality of life and social participation of older adults, studies should conduct environmental modifications interventions that take into account contexts such as individual characteristics, lifestyle and physical activities.

Background and objectives: Occupation and time‐use can never be separated because they are important criteria in determining one’s lifestyle, improvements of one’s lifestyle, and even the quality of life. The purpose of this study was to identify whether there is a difference in time‐use between the occupational balance (OB) group and occupational imbalance (OI) group and to determine the factors that influence the life satisfaction of those in the OB group. Methods: This study sorted detailed activities of 9,228 participants who were over 65 years of age. Raw data of 2014 Korean Time Use Survey (KTUS) were used and the amount of time-use of older adults was classified into eight activity areas. This study classified the amount of time used by older adults for eight occupational areas, namely, activities of daily life (ADLs), instrumental ADL (IADLs), rest and sleep, education, work, play, leisure, and social participation. We identified areas of specific time differences between OB and OI groups, and confirmed variables affecting life satisfaction. Results: The analysis of time-use corresponding to the eight occupational areas showed the greatest time-use for the instrumental activities of daily living, which averaged 1513.59 minutes (56.34%). The largest effect size was social participation (d = 1.38). As a result of analyzing the factors related to the life satisfaction of the OB group, we found that those who were younger (B = 0.02, p < .001), females (B = -0.12, p < .05), had a higher level of education (B = 0.65, p < .001), had a lower need for care (B = -1.19, p < .05), had a higher income (B = -0.43, p < .001), and rural residence (B = 0.29, p < .001) tended to have a higher life satisfaction. Conclusions: This study may provide a basis for developing time‐use management and lifestyle redesign programs.