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Background We assessed the association of personal factors with Family APGAR not only among the subjects in nonsingle households, but also in single households. Methods We randomly chose 1 000 persons aged from 50 to 89 years in Rumoi City of the west area of Hokkaido as study candidates, and 493 subjects responded to the survey. We compared the group of high Family APGAR (FA) score of more than or equal to seven with the group of low FA score of less than or equal to 6 with regard to health‐related QOL (HRQOL), measured with SF‐8, Index of Social interaction (ISI), and other personal characteristics. Being in the low FA group indicates living with a status of poor family function. Results As a result of the multivariate logistic regression model, living in single households, currently smoking, a low score of mental component summary (MCS) in HRQOL, and a low score of lSI were all significantly associated with being in the low FA group. A low score of MCS was significantly associated with being in the low FA group both in the stratum of nonsingle households, and in the stratum of single households. Conclusions There were three risk factors of low FA. The first is a single household, second is currently smoking in a nonsingle household, and the third is low ISI. Worse mental status is found to be associated with low FA among the subjects not only in nonsingle households, but also in single households.

Aim Family function is an essential factor affecting older adults' health. However, there has been no appropriate method to assess the family function of most older adults with fragility or poor health status. The present study aimed to explore the differences and relevance of family function estimated by home care nurses and the older adults, and to determine if nurses could represent older adults to provide the estimation. Methods Study participants were 50 older adults who were aged older 65 years and were taken care of at home by well-trained nurses. The present study used the Family APGAR as the questionnaire. We compared the results evaluated by the older adults and their home care nurses. The results included the level of dysfunction and the total scores of the questionnaire. The paired t-test and McNemar–Bowker test were used for the analysis. Results Family function could be leveled as “good,” “moderate dysfunction” and “severe dysfunction” according to the scores. The family function levels estimated by nurses showed no significant differences to the patients' condition (P = 0.123 > 0.05). Comparing the total scores of the older adults with those of their own home care nurses, the results showed a moderate to nearly high correlation (R = 0.689/P

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among social support (network and satisfaction), family function, and loneliness among elderly Korean women. A sample of 68 elderly Korean women, who were at least 60 years of age and lived in Seoul, Korea, was obtained. Data were collected by interview, using the translated Korean versions of the Revised University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Loneliness Scale (RULS), Family APGAR, and Social Support Questionnaire 6. The results indicate that the subjects were moderately lonely (M = 45.04) and had moderately functional families (M = 5.60). The means for social support were 1.37 for network size and 4.17 for satisfaction. Twenty-one percent of the subjects lived with their spouses. The subjects who lived with their spouse had a larger number of network members than those who did not live with their spouse (t = −0.26, P