Daily Time Use by Activity of Community-Dwelling Older Koreans: Focus on Health Management

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the daily time use by activity and identified factors related to health management time (HMT) use among 195 older adults (mean age = 77.5, SD = 6.28 years; 70.8% women) attending a Korean senior center. Descriptive statistics were analyzed and gamma regression analyses were performed. Participants used the most time on rest, followed by leisure, health management, daily living activities, and work. The mean duration of HMT was 205.38 min/day. The mean score for the subjective evaluation of health management (SEHM) was 13.62 and the importance score for SEHM was 4.72. Factors influencing HMT included exercise, number of chronic conditions, fasting blood sugar level, low density lipoprotein level, and cognitive function. HMT and frailty significantly predicted SEHM. HMT interventions focus on promoting exercise and acquiring health information to improve health outcomes among older adults in senior centers.