Nutrition for Health and Wellbeing in Community Dwelling Older Adults

Abstract

Prior research has suggested that culinary nutrition programs are effective in improving the dietary intake and overall health of older adults. Delivering these programs online has been proposed as possible and present promising results. These programs often promote healthy-eating patterns in relation to the program’s aim and can be based on various dietary patterns. Considering the recognition of the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) as a healthy-eating pattern for older adults and the successful adherence in non-Mediterranean populations, there is a need for innovative and cost-effective programs to provide older adults with evidence-based culinary nutrition education based on the MedDiet that include an online component. This PhD project employed a multimethod design to develop a culinary and nutrition-focused masterclass that provides education on the MedDiet, including step-by-step guidance to facilitate adopting this dietary pattern among older adults. To address the purpose of this research, the thesis (1) conducted a synthesis of current culinary and nutrition programs for older adults published to 2022, (2) qualitatively analysed workshop discussions to explore older adults’ use and motivations to join online courses, (3) used a participatory action approach to co-design the education content and Mediterranean-style recipes of the masterclass with older adults and (4) presented a reflection on the experience of conducting the co-design virtually and the impact of using this approach with older adults. The synthesis of existing research revealed limited research regarding programs designed specifically for the older adult population. Among the few programs, only four involved older adults in the development phase. The scoping review also identified that existing culinary nutrition programs had limited online components, no program was offered fully online and none provided MedDiet education to the non-Mediterranean older population. Through workshops and qualitative analysis, it was determined that older adults were interested in online courses and have had successful learning experiences with large variations in digital skills between research partners and people within their communities. Following on from the initial phases of work, a co-design approach using multimethods identified older adults’ needs and preferences, which determined the key elements of a MedDiet culinary nutrition masterclass. Specifically, educational content was developed and input to inform the structure and format of the masterclass. In addition, recipes were sought and optimised for diet quality. The outcome is a book that includes culinary nutrition education, Mediterranean-style recipes and links to a series of videos, led by partners’ decisions. Reflecting on the online co-design identified difficulties and highlighted the positive impact of the co-design approach on partners, suggesting that it can be considered in future co-design research with older adults.