A Brief Intervention for Malnutrition among Older Adults

Stepping Up Your Nutrition

Bibliographic Data

ID15515695
AuthorsMatthew Lee Smith (0000-0002-8232-9285, University of Georgia, corresponding author), Caroline D Bergeron (0000-0002-7238-4213, Institut National de Santé Publique du Québec), Sue Lachenmayr, Leigh Ann Eagle, Judy Simon
Year2020
Volume17
Issue10
Pages3590-3590
Publication date2020-05-20
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1661-7827 • E-ISSN: 1660-4601
PublisherMultidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3390/ijerph17103590
PMID32443789
OpenAlexW3027032332
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited5

Despite a multitude of nutritional risk factors among older adults, there is a lack of community-based programs and activities that screen for malnutrition and address modifiable risk among this vulnerable population. Given the known association of protein and fluid consumption with fall-related risk among older adults and the high prevalence of falls among Americans age 65 years and older each year, a brief intervention was created. Stepping Up Your Nutrition (SUYN) is a 2.5 h workshop developed through a public/private partnership to motivate older adults to reduce their malnutrition risk. The purposes of this naturalistic workshop dissemination were to: (1) describe the SUYN brief intervention; (2) identify participant characteristics associated with malnutrition risk; and (3) identify participant characteristics associated with subsequent participation in Stepping On (SO), an evidence-based fall prevention program. Data were analyzed from 429 SUYN participants, of which 38% ( n = 163) subsequently attended SO. As measured by the SCREEN II ® , high and moderate malnutrition risk scores were reported among approximately 71% and 20% of SUYN participants, respectively. Of the SUYN participants with high malnutrition risk, a significantly larger proportion attended a subsequent SO workshop (79.1%) compared to SUYN participants who did not proceed to SO (65.8%) (χ 2 = 8.73, p = 0.013). Findings suggest SUYN may help to identify malnutrition risk among community-dwelling older adults and link them to needed services like evidence-based programs. Efforts are needed to expand the delivery infrastructure of SUYN to reach more at-risk older adults

Environmental health · Intervention (counseling · Malnutrition · Population · Public health · Balance, Gait, and Falls Prevention · Cerebral Palsy and Movement Disorders · Medicine · Nursing · Nutrition and Health in Aging · Gerontology

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