Authors
Hye Jin Nam, Sujin Lee, Han Nah Park
Published in
International journal for quality in health care : journal of the International Society for Quality in Health Care. Jul 07, 2026. Epub Jul 07, 2026.
Abstract
As the elderly population in Korea rapidly increases, issues related to lonely death have also emerged as a social concern. The purpose of this study is to identify factors influencing the subjectively perceived risk of lonely death among older adults living alone.
This study employed a cross-sectional design using secondary data from the seventh wave (2024) of the Seoul Senior Citizen Survey. A total of 955 older adults aged ≥65 years living alone in Seoul were included in the analysis. Descriptive statistics, Rao-Scott chi-square tests, F-tests, and complex sample multinomial logistic regression were conducted using complex sample procedures.
Significant differences across the lonely death risk groups (low, moderate, and high) were observed in relation to gender, education, household income, economic satisfaction, housing satisfaction, frequency of in-person contact, eating alone, satisfaction with social relationships and social/cultural activities, depression, history of falls, instrumental activities of daily living, subjective health, and preparedness for dying alone. Factors significantly associated with the subjectively perceived risk of lonely death included low housing satisfaction, eating alone, dissatisfaction with social relationships, and preparedness for dying alone. The perceived risk of lonely death among older adults living alone varies according to a range of social, economic, and environmental factors.
The results of this study may serve as foundational resources for future research and policy development aimed at preventing lonely death.
PMID:
42412537
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 07 Jul 2026.
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