지역사회 노인의 내재적 역량과 지역사회 계속거주 의향

Intrinsic Capacity and Willingness Toward Aging in Place among Community-dwelling Older Adults

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate community-dwelling older adults’ levels of intrinsic capacity and willingness toward Ageing in Place (AIP). Methods: This secondary data analysis included data from 9,737 (weighted-n=7,477,866) older adults who participated in the 2020 Korean Elderly Survey. Intrinsic capacity encompasses several aspects, including locomotor capacity, depressive symptoms, cognitive capacity, vitality, and sensory capacity. Willingness toward AIP was categorized into three groups: the positive attitude group, who wish to stay in the community even if their health declines; the neutral attitude group, who are open to moving to a facility if their health worsens; and the facility living preference group, who prefer to relocate to a facility. Results: The proportions of the positive AIP, neutral AIP, and facility preference groups were 68.7%, 27.4%, and 3.9%, respectively. Among the five intrinsic capacity components, sensory impairment was the most prevalent, followed by depressive symptoms, cognitive impairment, mobility loss, and undernutrition. Depressive symptoms and mobility loss were the most prevalent in the facility living preference group. Conclusion: These findings emphasize the importance of enhancing intrinsic capacity to increase the willingness toward AIP of community-dwelling older adults through early comprehensive screening of intrinsic capacity in older adults.