| This study assessed nutrition education wants/needs of older adults living in Medina County, Ohio, to find gaps between what was being offered and what was wanted/needed by older adults. Phase I involved interviews of 140 gatekeepers of organizations that addressed older adult services and/or nutrition. It answered what nutrition education services were provided to older adults, how they were delivered, and why those services were chosen. Phase II involved five focus groups of 37 non-institutionalized older adults, between 60 and 89 years of age. It answered what nutrition education services were wanted/needed, and why they were wanted/needed. This study found, information obtained through gatekeepers and older adults, though not exact, was very similar for; services available and used, communication routes (e.g., word-of-mouth), topics offered and wanted/needed (e.g., basic nutrition, diet and disease, life-style problems), methods/sources used or preferred (e.g., written literature, demonstrations, discussions, hands-on activities), and service delivery routes (e.g., at senior activity sites). A review of data for geographic and gender significance found that there was very little difference between information from the five focus groups, except for one that was primarily men. Gaps found between nutrition education services being offered and what was wanted/needed included: more topics of wants/needs were cited by older adults than were being offered; gatekeepers talked in generalities, while older adults talked in generalities and specifics; and older adults noted more methods and sources used. Another gap was that many programs that offered nutrition education services did not have formal evaluations of programs presented. Because of this the older adults were not, for the most part, being included in the planning stage of programs being offered. Reasons older adults wanted/needed nutrition education services were to help improve their health, they perceived the topic as being a problem, to make informed decisions, and the topic interested them. Reasons they chose methods for learning were because they preferred them, learned better that way, or it was a “fun” way to learn. This study produced a Senior Resource Guide, Food and Nutrition Education Wants and Needs Questionnaire, and two interview guides. Information from this study could be used to develop more focused nutrition education programs for older adults. |
