Research in Community and Public Health Nursing

Original Articles

[English] Impact of Leisure Activities on Physical, Mental, and Cognitive Function Among Older Adults: Gyeong-Suk Jeon, Kyungwon Choi; Res Community Public Health Nurs. 2025;36(4):420-434. Published online December 31, 2025; DOI: https://doi.org/10.12799/rcphn.2025.01165

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Abstract PDF Supplementary Material: Purpose
This study aimed to classify types of leisure activity and examine their associations with self-rated health, depression and cognitive function among older adults in Korea.
Methods
Data were drawn from 7,804 participants in the 2020 National Survey of Older Koreans. Types of leisure activity were identified through K-means cluster analysis using respondents' first and second choices of leisure activities. Multivariable logistic regression analyses, adjusted for sociodemographic and health-related covariates were conducted to assess the primary associations between leisure types and dichotomized health outcomes.
Results
Five distinct groups were identified: religious activity-oriented, varied physical activity-oriented, walking and rest-oriented, gardening and sedentary activity-oriented, and social activity-oriented. Compared to the religious activity-oriented group, the varied physical activity-oriented (OR=0.71, 95% CI=0.59–0.85), walking and rest-oriented (OR=0.55, 95% CI=0.39–0.77), and social activity-oriented groups (OR=0.46, 95% CI=0.29–0.72) showed significantly lower odds of poor self-rated health. All four types exhibited significantly lower odds of depression; notably, the social activity-oriented (OR=0.40, 95% CI=0.28–0.57) and walking and rest-oriented (OR=0.40, 95% CI=0.28–0.57) groups showed the strongest protective effect. None of the leisure groups showed a significant link to cognitive function risk when compared with the religious activity-oriented group. Conclusions: Leisure patterns involving diverse physical activities and social engagement are strongly associated with favorable health outcomes. Health promotion strategies should prioritize accessible community-based programs that encourage diverse physical and socially engaging activities, while developing targeted interventions (e.g., combining cognitive stimulation with sedentary leisure) to reduce disparities and mitigate cognitive risk among older adults.

[English] Socioeconomic Inequalities in Depressive Symptoms among Korean Older Men and Women: Contribution of Social Support Resources: Jeong Lee, Kyung Won Choi, Gyeong-Suk Jeon; J Korean Acad Community Health Nurs. 2020;31(1):13-23. Published online March 31, 2020; DOI: https://doi.org/10.12799/jkachn.2020.31.1.13

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Purpose
This study explored the contribution of social support resources to the explanation of socioeconomic inequalities in depressive symptoms of older Korean men and women.
Methods
Data were derived from Living Profiles of Older People Survey (LPOPS), which comprises a nationally representative sample of non-institutionalized Korean older adults living in the community. The data were analyzed by using multiple logistic regression. The sample consisted of 4,046 men and 6,036 women aged ≥65 years. The Korean version of the Geriatric Depression Scale-Short form (SGDS-K) was employed as an outcome variable.
Results
Compared to the older men and women who were in higher socioeconomic status, those in lower socioeconomic status had significantly higher risk of depressive symptoms after adjusting for other covariates. When social support resources were individually included in the base model, each factor contributed to inequalities in depressive symptoms. Social networks explained about 20% of the differential impact of education and 10% to 15% of the differential impact of household income for depressive symptoms in men. Among women, it mitigated 23.6% to 39.0% of education and household income inequalities for depressive symptoms. Social participation contributed to buffer depressive symptom inequalities of 24.0% to 46.3% among men and those of 11.7% to 45.3% among women.
Conclusion
Our findings suggest community care nurses acknowledge the value of social support resources to alleviate socioeconomic inequality in depressive symptoms among older men and women.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Path Analysis of Factors Influencing Health-Related Quality of Life for Community-Dwelling Vulnerable Older Adults with Chronic Diseases in Korea
Hyun-Ju Lee
Research in Community and Public Health Nursing.2025; 36: 315. CrossRef
Trends in Dietary Behavior Changes by Region using 2008 ~ 2019 Community Health Survey Data
Yun-Hui Jeong, Hye-Young Kim, Hae-Young Lee
Korean Journal of Community Nutrition.2022; 27(2): 132. CrossRef
Effectiveness of Social Support for Community-Dwelling Elderly with Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Seon Heui Lee, Hanju Lee, Soyoung Yu
Healthcare.2022; 10(9): 1598. CrossRef
A Longitudinal Study of the Reciprocal Relationship between Depression and Income among Korean Older Men and Women
Jeong Lee, Gyeong-Suk Jeon
Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing.2022; 52(4): 451. CrossRef
The Death Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms among Poor Older Women in Rural Areas: The Moderating Effect of Social Support
Seung Joo Lim, Young Ko, Chunmi Kim, Hung Sa Lee
Journal of Korean Academy of Community Health Nursing.2017; 28(4): 440. CrossRef

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