노인복지법상 노인여가복지시설의 효율적 운영방안에 관한 연구

There is a growing concern for how elderly people can live a life worthy of human dignity, along with the growing population of the elderly. Specifically, leisure is of great importance for them as they have a lot of free time after they retire from their lifelong jobs. When it comes to elderly people's leisure, there are constitutional grounds for their human dignity and value, for their right to pursue happiness and for their right to live a life worthy of human dignity. The Elderly Welfare Act includes regulations on leisure and welfare facilities for senior citizens, providing legal grounds for their leisure lives. According to the Elderly Welfare Act, leisure and welfare facilities for the elderly are largely categorized into three: senior welfare centers, senior centers and senior community programs. And there are more than 64,000 leisure and welfare facilities for senior citizens across the nation. Unlike the leisure of the younger generations, that of the elderly has quite diverse characteristics, but the problem is that leisure programs available for them aren't diverse enough yet. Another problem is that there aren't sufficient professional human resources who can be responsible for the management of their leisure lives in spite of the importance of their leisure. Furthermore, lots of existing leisure and welfare facilities just serve as places of gathering or places of rest, failing to perform their original functions. The regulations on the installation of elderly leisure and welfare facilities should be put in order and be strengthened, and a wide variety of leisure programs should be prepared. Especially, customized leisure programs should be introduced in consideration of the unique characteristics of the elderly population, and experts who can manage their leisure lives in a systematic way should be nurtured as well.