Heather H Keller1. 1. Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada N1G 2W1. hkeller@uoguelph.ca
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To determine the independent association of meal programs (eg, Meals On Wheels and other meal programs with a social component) and shopping help on seniors' nutritional risk. DESIGN: Cohort design. Baseline data were collected with an in-person interview and subjects were followed up for 18 months via telephone interview. SUBJECTS/ SETTING: Cognitively well, vulnerable (ie, required informal or formal supports for activities of daily living) seniors were recruited through community service agencies in southwestern Ontario, Canada. Three hundred sixty-seven seniors participated in baseline interviews and 263 completed data collection at 18-month follow-up; 70% participated in meal programs at baseline. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The 15-item Seniors in the Community: Risk Evaluation for Eating and Nutrition (SCREEN) questionnaire identified nutritional risk at 18 months. STATISTICAL ANALYSES PERFORMED: Descriptive and bivariate analyses were performed and significant associations (P<0.05) used to build the full multiple linear regression model. Meal and shopping variables were forced into the model as predictors of follow-up SCREEN questionnaire scores. RESULTS: Meals On Wheels use was independently associated with higher SCREEN questionnaire scores (ie, less risk), as was higher income. Baseline SCREEN questionnaire scores also strongly and positively predicted follow-up scores. Self-reported depression at baseline was associated with lower scores at follow-up. Although use of programs at baseline was associated with decreased risk, if participants experienced increased use of the program (eg, more meals) during the follow-up period this was associated with lower scores, or increased risk. CONCLUSIONS: Meal programs can improve or maintain nutritional risk for vulnerable seniors. Increased use of these programs over time may indicate a senior's declining status. Seniors who are in need of informal or formal supports for food shopping or preparation should be encouraged to participate in meal programs as a means of maintaining or improving their nutrition.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the independent association of meal programs (eg, Meals On Wheels and other meal programs with a social component) and shopping help on seniors' nutritional risk. DESIGN: Cohort design. Baseline data were collected with an in-person interview and subjects were followed up for 18 months via telephone interview. SUBJECTS/ SETTING: Cognitively well, vulnerable (ie, required informal or formal supports for activities of daily living) seniors were recruited through community service agencies in southwestern Ontario, Canada. Three hundred sixty-seven seniors participated in baseline interviews and 263 completed data collection at 18-month follow-up; 70% participated in meal programs at baseline. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The 15-item Seniors in the Community: Risk Evaluation for Eating and Nutrition (SCREEN) questionnaire identified nutritional risk at 18 months. STATISTICAL ANALYSES PERFORMED: Descriptive and bivariate analyses were performed and significant associations (P<0.05) used to build the full multiple linear regression model. Meal and shopping variables were forced into the model as predictors of follow-up SCREEN questionnaire scores. RESULTS: Meals On Wheels use was independently associated with higher SCREEN questionnaire scores (ie, less risk), as was higher income. Baseline SCREEN questionnaire scores also strongly and positively predicted follow-up scores. Self-reported depression at baseline was associated with lower scores at follow-up. Although use of programs at baseline was associated with decreased risk, if participants experienced increased use of the program (eg, more meals) during the follow-up period this was associated with lower scores, or increased risk. CONCLUSIONS: Meal programs can improve or maintain nutritional risk for vulnerable seniors. Increased use of these programs over time may indicate a senior's declining status. Seniors who are in need of informal or formal supports for food shopping or preparation should be encouraged to participate in meal programs as a means of maintaining or improving their nutrition.
Authors: A Kurosu; F Osman; S Daggett; R Peña-Chávez; A Thompson; S M Myers; P VanKampen; S S Koenig; M Ciucci; J Mahoney; N Rogus-Pulia Journal: J Nutr Health Aging Date: 2021 Impact factor: 4.075
Authors: Patricia Sheean; Isabel C Farrar; Suela Sulo; Jamie Partridge; Linda Schiffer; Marian Fitzgibbon Journal: Public Health Nutr Date: 2018-11-06 Impact factor: 4.022