Accessing nutritious food: The realities of lone senior women in urban Nova scotia

This is the first qualitative study in Canada specifically focused on food insecurity in the senior population. Food insecurity is associated with poverty, increased risk of chronic disease, and poor physical and mental health. With the Canadian population steadily aging, and food security being recognized as one of the social determinants of health, it is imperative decision makers understand how food insecurity affects the growing number of senior citizens so that appropriate programs and policies can be implemented to ensure access to food for this vulnerable population.;To address the above objectives, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and data were managed using NVIVO 7 software. The data were analyzed using a phenomenological approach to arrive at a structural description of the experience of food insecurity and expose the underlying and precipitating factors that account for what is being experienced. Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory was used to examine the environment shaping the seniors' lives at various levels of influence.;Eight women meeting study criteria (over 65 years of age, living alone in Halifax Regional Municipality and in receipt of the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS)) were interviewed to inform the results of this study. These women were recruited using site-based recruitment methods through community organizations and a governmental housing program. All women rented their dwellings and seven lived in income-geared housing. Four of the women received a personal pension from the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) while two received a survivor's benefit. Only one woman reported income from a private pension.;Seven themes emerged as the women talked about their experiences with accessing food, including: (1) World View, (2) Health and Health Problems, (3) Use of Community Programs, (4) Transportation, (5) Adequacy of Income, (6) Other Food Management Strategies and, (7) Availability of Family & Friends. World view and health appeared to have the most influencial role on their food security status.;This thesis had three research objectives, to (1) explore how lower income senior women living alone in urban HRM experience food insecurity and uncover the meanings embedded in their experiences; (2) discover participant- and researcher-identified enablers and barriers to accessing nutritious foods; and, (3) explore how accurately hypothetical household scenarios detailing senior's public pension incomes and monthly expenses to assess the affordability of a nutritious diet reflects the realities of the participants.;Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory provided a model to examine the enablers and barriers to accessing food in relation to the fiver layers of the environment (micro-, meso-, exo-, macro- and chronosystems) influencing the participants' individual food-related behaviours. Enablers and barriers were both participant and researcher identified.;Finally, the third objective sought to gather participants' feedback on the use of affordability scenarios (comparing monthly incomes to expenses) to apply provincial food costing data to assess the adequacy of public pensions to afford a basic nutritious diet. Affordability scenarios were compiled in earlier research. The eight women reported Old Age Security, GIS, CPP and Goods and Services Tax credit as main sources of income and all had incomes greater than original research reported. Their interpretation of basic necessities included rent, telephone and cable (with some of the participants insisting a tele-health service was necessary), transportation, Pharmacare and food. Two revised affordability scenarios were created based on participants' input, which strongly show that a lone senior woman living in income-geared housing has significantly more money remaining for food and other non-"basic" expenses than a women paying market rent.;Stemming from findings, various implications for dietetic practice, public policy and future research are made. Focus is placed on food insecurity measures which underestimate prevalence in the senior population as current tools only collect data on income-related food insecurity; the need for more subsidized housing and more accessible and affordable transportation options for seniors.;Old age, to the unlearned, is winter; to the learned, it is harvest time. - ∼ Yiddish Proverb ∼...