Are Air-Purifying Plants Effective in Preventing Elderly Solitary Death?

Gangnam-gu, Self-Support Workers Visit 197 Elderly Living Alone, Linking 'Low-Income Job Creation and Elderly Care Services'

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Gangnam-gu (District Mayor Jeong Soon-gyun) has been implementing the "Dream·Hope·Jobs - Social Safety Net Construction Project" since September last year, a horticultural therapy program using air-purifying plants to prevent elderly solitary deaths.

This project is a public-private partnership prepared by the Gangnam Regional Self-Support Center and GKL (Grand Korea Leisure) to provide jobs for low-income groups and prevent solitary deaths among elderly living alone.

In June last year, the district selected 21 self-support workers and conducted 23 sessions of job and basic training until July. In August, a horticultural therapy program including pot making was conducted for 197 elderly living alone, followed by the distribution of three types of air-purifying plants. From September, self-support workers, organized in pairs, visited twice a week to manage the air-purifying plants and engage in companionship activities, which received high praise from elderly living alone who usually felt lonely.

Through these activities, the self-support workers discovered Mr. Go, who had collapsed in Yeoksam 1-dong, and handed him over to his guardian. They also reported the worsening memory loss of Ms. Lee, residing in Suseo-dong, to the community center, enabling her to receive appropriate dementia treatment and nursing care services.

Jang Jeong-eun, Director of the Social Welfare Division, said, “This program is a win-win project among vulnerable groups linking job creation for low-income people and elderly care services, which is also meaningful in terms of social integration. We will continue to strive to create ‘Inclusive Welfare City, Gangnam’ through various projects that realize social value.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.