Performing Department
Nutrition
Non Technical Summary
Despite their many health benefits, the recommended amount of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains are not consumed by the majority of older adults in the U.S. The social-ecological model of healthy eating addresses multi-level factors that influence consumers' food choices, including the individual level, family and interpersonal level, community and organizational levels, and policy and systems levels. For older adults, community, organizational and policy enablers of healthy eating in older adults include accessibility, affordability, transportation, social support, and accommodating different living styles. Supermarkets, senior centers, and congregate meal sites are important settings where older adults practice food-related behaviors. This project will build upon lessons learned in the NE1439 regional research project and develop new understanding of important enablers and community supports for healthy eating in older adults. Through collaborative work with regional research members using qualitative and quantitative methods, we will identify the most important and modifiable enablers and behavioral settings to improve dietary behaviors in aging adults in communities across regions represented in this project. These results, along with relevant findings in the literature, will be used to develop and pilot test a tool that communities can use to assess their ability to support good nutrition among their older residents.
Animal Health Component
0%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
75%
Applied
25%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
To conduct multidimensional assessments of diet, physical activity and related factors affecting aging adults.
Project Methods
In this project, we will work with other participating regional research project investigators to assess aging adults' perceptions and recommendations for community environmental supports for a food secure, culturally appropriate and healthy eating environment. The purpose of these studies is to identify the most important and modifiable enablers and behaviors of healthy eating among aging adults. To accomplish this, mixed methodology approaches will be used, including both qualitative and quantitative methods such as focus groups and consumer surveys. We anticipate that focus groups would include six to eight people and will do as many as needed to reach a saturation point in the data. Saturation occurs when further data collection does not provide new knowledge. Open-ended questions will be used and questions will be developed to answer gaps in the literature review. All focus group discussions will be transcribed verbatim and will be analyzed using standard focus group protocols. Themes will then be identified from the most prevalent codes found amongst the transcriptions. Expanding on the NE-1439 work, additional consumer surveys will be developed using literature reviews, formative data from focus group discussions, or from community service providers or community members in the rural and urban regions of the participating states. These surveys will highlight the most important and modifiable community settings to improve food access and dietary behaviors in older adults. Surveys will identify older adults' use of community supports for healthy eating, identify the types of supports used, identify where seniors access their foods and if they are food secure, and provide recommendations for improvement to foster healthy eating in older adults. Based on prior NE1439 and results from NE1939 studies, as well as current literature on social-ecological factors that influence diet in older adults, we will develop and pilot test tools that communities can use to assess their ability to support good nutrition in community-dwelling older adults.