UCF Public Affairs Students: Faisal Mohamidi & Safiya Prysmakova Supervising Professor: Su-Hou, DrPH, CPH, MCHES, RN

Transcription

1 UCF Public Affairs Students: Faisal Mohamidi & Safiya Prysmakova Supervising Professor: Su-Hou, DrPH, CPH, MCHES, RN

2 76 million baby boomers retired (Hersey et al., 2015; Sahyoung & Vaudin, 2014). By 2025, older people will account for 18.5% (Bobroff et al., 2003; Mahadevan et al., 2014). Florida has the largest number of older people (5.2 million) in the Nation ( In 2016, Orange County s senior population is 11.30% of the County s total population (approximately 148,524 people) (U.S. Census Bureau). In 2015, around 10 million older people suffered from food insecurity in the United States (Ziliak & Gundersen, 2017). In Florida, around % of older Floridians suffer from food insecurity (Ziliak & Gundersen, 2017).

3 SENIOR FIRST S MISSION to enhance the quality of life for Orange County senior citizens by maintaining their independence and dignity through nutrition, home improvement and support services which assist seniors in need (

4 QUESTIONS: How does participation in Seniors First s activities affect the QUALIY OF LIFE and HEALTH of older people?

5 Personal Physical Health Environment Quality of Life Psychological State Independence (According to World Health Organization)

6 Associates with high indicators of QOL: Linked to absence of loneliness among seniors, associated with an increased use of health services (Routasalo et al. 2006, Nyqvist et al. 2013a; Geller et al. 1999). Related to better mental well-being and increased self-perceived health (Schultz et al. 2008; Nyqvist et al. 2013b).

7 Congregate meals are a joyful occasion. Eating alone is related to unhealthy dietary practices among seniors. Older men and women eating alone are, respectively, 2.17 and 0.79 times more likely to consume less fresh fruit and vegetables. Eating in a group is associated with higher food intake and enhanced nutrition status. Elderly females eat more regular meals than their male counterparts. And the most important meal for them is lunch, which usually is being served around 12 p.m.

8 1. Does healthy food behavior and social capital have an effect on the perception of the quality of life and overall health of elderly people attending congregate meals? 2. What are the challenges and strategies community centers have in providing congregate meals?

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10 Table 1. Descriptive Statistics Variable Percentage/Mean Gender (Female) 82% Race (Black/African-American) 66% Age 77 years old 100% 98% 96% Seniors Perception of the Helpfulness of the Congregate Meals Program (%) 94% 92% 90% 88% Feel better/healthier Eat healthier Have an enjoyable experience Socialize Continue to live at home Percentage %

11 Chart 1. Seniors' Transportation Walk to Campus 2% Public Transportation 21% Drive by myself 42% Drive by myself Ride with others Public Transportation Walk to Campus Ride with others 35%

12 Table 2. Two Model Ordered Logistic Regression of Seniors Perception of Quality of Life and Overall Health Variables Model 1. Quality of Life Model 2. Overall Health OR (Std. Err.) OR (Std. Err.) Healthy Food Behavior (.523) *** (1.825) Maintaining Interpersonal ** (4.099) (-).988 (.509) Relationships Eating with others not in (-).353 ** (.117) (-).703 (.176) center Transportation (-).565 (.214) (.671) Black/African-American (-).366 (.269) (-).297 (.195) Age (.038) (-).978 (.033) Note: Values are odds ratios. p <.05 *, p <.01 **, p <.001 ***

13 The research team interviewed Seniors First s president and the program director and 14 site coordinators of the Neighborhood Lunch program run by Seniors First. Aw&ll= %2C &z=11

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15 Coordinators Experiences The biggest problem in this center is transportation. Transportation is a big issue here. We have tons of people waiting for transportation, however, Seniors First provides us with a 20-seat bus. Coordinators Strategies Carpooling: Some of the seniors ride together with each other. But there are others in the community who have a hard time getting here. Rely on volunteers: One of my volunteers would drive my 99 years old. She (the volunteer) is the one who brings him here three times a week. Last week one of the seniors [called] me and said that she was lonely, and she would like to come to the center, but she has no way to make it here. Bus rotation: Sometimes the bus would bring some people who live far and go again to pick [up] people who live closer to our center; this could take two or more rounding trips.

16 Coordinators Experiences Yes, for more funding. The funding is limited in terms of the general revenue or the tax dollars allocated to the neighborhood lunch program. Due to lack of funding, there [are] a lot of eligible elderly that we cannot feed in this center. Coordinators Strategies Seeking donation: We just tried to get some groups to come-in and to see what they can offer for donation. Donation would come from the older adults, themselves: For our lunch program we have to give the elderly the opportunity to donate, however, they don t have to pay for anything. Socializing without feeding: Well, sometimes I let people come in, even though I cannot feed them, they still have the opportunity to socialize and to have an enjoyable experience with others.

17 Coordinators Experiences I know that sometimes the rice tastes bad, even when it looks nice. I have a huge challenge [throwing] away food because it has been poorly prepared, over-cooked, or whatever issue that can be easily fixed. Older adults do not want breast chicken, they want the real chicken. Coordinators Strategies Provide spices and vinegar: Sometimes the older adults don t like the taste of the food. So, I provide them with black pepper, olive oil, vinegar and even salt to make their food tasty for them. I usually provide the older [adults] with hot sauce to add some flavors to their meals.

18 Coordinators Experiences When we try to take people off the waiting list, it has been so long that they are not sure who we are. One lady was brought to us last week and she said that she was on the waiting list for two years. I told her that this is not really bad. If you are not a high need person you are not going to get off the waiting list.

19 Coordinators Experiences I wish we [had] dishes from Puerto Rician or Korean cuisines. The older adults would enjoy it. During my time here, [not] one of the older adult[s] that [has] asked for culturally competent meals. However, if someone is asking for them I believe they are able to make the necessary adjustments. We don t prepare the menu and the food is being [cooked] in a different place. Our only job is to serve the food that we received.

20 Coordinators Experiences In the past we used to serve white rice and now we are serving brown rice. The same could be said about bread, since we are serving more whole grain bread. I think that when younger people join[ed] our program they started to ask for healthier options. The older adults don t like the white bread nor the regular pasta.

21 Coordinators Experiences I got an interpreter when dealing with older adults who only speak Spanish. I rely on some volunteers who come and translate for us. I think their service is much needed. I wish we [had] someone who can translate from Korean or Chinese languages.

22 1. Healthy food behavior has a positive impact on the overall health of the elderly population. 2. Socialization contributes to the perception of a higher quality of life among seniors. 3. More than 92 percent of seniors identified that the lunch program is beneficial not only for their social capital and healthy meal behavior but also for their well-being and overall health, and continuation to live at home percent of the elderly attending Seniors First s lunch program drive to campus themselves: lack of private transportation and a long distance to food stores decrease the amount of healthy food taken by seniors

23 The coordinators of the Neighborhood Lunch program indicated that the most challenging aspect of their duties is related to: 1- Transportation (25.38%) 2- Lack of adequate funding (25.38%) 3- Food preparations (19.23%)

24 1- Provide score sheets with the menu. The items with high scores would stay, and items with a lower score would be removed from the menu. 2- Provide the whole chicken not only the breast. Song, Simon and Patel (2014) indicated that 75.5% of older adults said that chicken is their favorite food. 3- Increase the amount of whole grain bread and pasta. 4- Provide the menu in Spanish.

25 This Congregate Meal Program mixed-methods research project is part of a larger Healthy Aging-in-Place Study (#SBE ) conducted by Dr. Su-I Hou, professor of public affairs and of health management and informatics at UCF. The researchers would like to thank all the survey participants and coordinators for participation in this study. In particular, the research team appreciate Seniors First s president Marsha Lorenz and its lunch program director Lisa McCrystal for their strong support of this project. The research team is also indebted to Professor Hou s research student group, Xian Cao, Alyse Hurwit, Lily Sant, and Lindsey White, for their kind help and assistance with surveying the senior participants.