ENHANCING HEALTHY EATING AMONG THE ELDERLY
Research rationale
There has been a drastic increase in the population of the aged in our societies today. According to WHO the people of the elderly above 65 years between 2015 and 2050 is expected to double. Currently, the population is 12%, and statistics estimate 22% of the total population, which will be leaving in low-income countries with little help. Health professional’s support that continued eating of nutritious meals is likely to boost a person immunity and physical endurance of the harsh weather conditions. The aged are vulnerable to attack by diseases due to the rampant changes associated with ageing. To minimize the demand for health at the ageing stage, regular healthy eating and physical exercise will be of great help.
Good health cuts across all the ages. Healthy living is not only for the aged or the vulnerable in society. Building immunity begins from childhood to adulthood. The children too are very vulnerable. Exposure to unpleasant health habit may result in catastrophic challenges or even death in the worst scenario. Malnutrition is one crucial cause of death among the under-five years, especially in developing countries.
Studies have been carried out concerning facilitators and barriers of healthy living among children and young people. This study fills in the gap of the questionable habits of the aged who are every day queuing and demanding for the better services in the service homes because no one is left to take care of them back in their households. The elderly face unimaginable setbacks regarding the physical and mental changes that result in an inability to fight opportunistic diseases.
The study on the ways to enhance healthy eating among the elderly is closely related to the healthy habits topic which I learnt. It would serve best to create more awareness on the significance of prevention of the health issues rather than relying on the medication. Most scholars support the say that it is better to prevent than cure which directly correlates with the topic; building immunity through nutrition for the aged.
Research aim
The primary purpose of the study is to review ways to enhance healthy eating among the elderly in our communities. The topic aims to explore the facilitators and barriers of better nutrition and create awareness of the healthy eating benefits among the elderly.
Research questions
Main research question
- What are the best ways to enhance healthy eating habits among the elderly
Specific research questions
- How do the communities provide care for the elderly?
- What are the facilitators and barriers to healthy eating among the elderly?
Research objectives
Main objective
- To investigate the best way to enhance healthy eating among the elderly.
Specific objectives
- To investigate ways through which the elderly are taken care of in the community.
- To determine facilitators and barriers to healthy eating among the elderly in their home.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Prevalence of the malnutrition
There is a dramatic increase in the population. Demographics show that the people above 60 years was 400 million in 2002 and statistic approximate a total of 1.2 billion by 2025, which an increase of 840 million. The aged are on the rise due to improved quality of living in developing countries hence increased life expectancy. The increase in the number of people is causing adverse social and health problems. Due to the physical and mental changes associated with ageing, there will be an increase in the health costs and demand for better health care both at home and service homes.
The aged are subject to deprived immunity system, reproducible surveys in the UK showed that malnutrition risks are highly prevalent in the person diagnosed with a disease such as cancer, neurological and gastro internal infections. The diseases are primary causes of the malnutrition in the hospitals. Other studies show that 60% of the malnutrition is highly prevalent in the service and other health care centres.
Moreover, surveys project a very high number of elderly who have a prevalence of malnutrition but not yet detected. According to Guigoz, 5% to 10% of the elderly being taken care at home have prevalent to malnutrition. In comparison, 17% to 19% who are long term resident at nursing homes are susceptible to malnutrition, and finally, 30%-60% of the elderly hospitalized showed signs of malnutrition. The elderly being admitted to the hospital suggests that the community do not provide adequate nutrition guide to the aged owing to the devastating nutrition-related diseases prevalent among the patients. Percentage of the ageing population is expected to rapidly increase until 2030 with a percentage of 37.4% though, it is great concern remedies to the challenges need to be addressed.
Causes of the malnutrition
Primary causes of malnutrition regard the lack of micro and macronutrients in the body owing to inadequate absorption, interference of the metabolism and insufficient food intake due to acute and chronic infections. Micro and macronutrients necessary for proper consumption of food include energy, protein, vitamins and trace elements. The researchers suggest that treatment to the issue is a significant and more profound understanding of the long-term ways to overcome it should be a priority. There are numerous factors related to ageing, such physiological and societal changes that can trigger malnutrition. Illness of an individual should also be a variable determining the occurrences of malnutrition
One major cause of malnutrition is inadequate food ingestion related to the disease. 50% of the cancer patients in Malaysia showed lower food intake also other patients, about 48% showed a drop in the consumption of food. Disease such as cancer may lead to reduced appetite or infections in the food tat, which prevents smooth intake of the micro and macronutrients. Such patients experience malnutrition even though adequate food is given. It is estimated that four in every patient who is diagnosed with chronic illness, experience low diet. The neurological disease presents a very percentage of the health risk of malnutrition among the patients due to discomfort and inability to self-feed.
Secondly, poor dietary has been another cause of malnutrition. Individuals taking one diet for quite a while face a risk of malnutrition. Under the consumption of vitamins such as fruits and vegetables could contribute to such malnutrition-related diseases. It is estimated that one in every four adults skip meals daily, and around 13% of the aged take the minimum required amount of vitamins present in fruits and vegetables every day.
Further, the physiological factors causing malnutrition in the elderly could be chewing and swallowing problems which result from the teeth related infections and digestive tract infections. Other factors include confusion, oral issues, and dementia, pain, nausea, vomiting and tastes changes. An economic problem such as poverty could also contribute to malnutrition, including self-neglect and poor food choices.
Risk factors of malnutrition
Malnutrition risks are caused by multiple elements such as the chronic disease which are not related to the age factor, including the conditions mentioned earlier. Gastrointestinal and cancer increases the energy requirement and reduces the intake of the food nutrients. Such diseases and other factor increases with an increase with age. The elderly are most susceptible to the risk compared to the young due to a compromised immune system. These risk factors are cognitive and rise in chronic medical conditions that force the elderly to polypharmacy, psychosocial-problems, and illnesses compromising nutritional status.
Also, social rejection and minimal relation with the community lead to depression. Dementia has been examined and noticed to cause weight loss. From a survey, 0.5% of the aged experienced deterioration in physical and chronological from those healthy nonsmoking subjects. In nursing homes, the nursing attitude and negligence have been the leading cause of the malnutrition among the dependents. To effectively enhance the health of the elderly, we should actively change the systems and perfect ways to improve the nutrition of the elderly amid the challenges and risks involved.
Implications of the malnutrition
Malnutrition has adverse implications in all sectors of the state: social, economic, and political sectors as seen in the developing countries such as Nigeria and Sudan. Further, malnutrition can lead to death and chronic diseases. It is well known that malnutrition affects the health care system directly and indirectly. The economy is crippled indirectly through the days lost from work and high revenues dedicated to taking care of the patients in hospitals. Malnutrition also affects the body functioning by infections on the organs.
The fatal consequences on the body organs are not only felt physically but also affects the physiological functions. At a cellular level, the immune system is interfered with. The body may not be able to fight diseases. The individual may be infected by chronic diseases which neither make the condition difficult to identity nor trace the primary cause. In the long run, the adult may suffer from the pressure sores or even lack of platelets to heal a wound in the required time and decreased intestinal absorption of food in the intestines due to gastrointestinal infections
Economically, treating the malnourished individual as has been noted to be twice a healthy individual. The care and treatment cost usually rise, and poverty may chip in the household. In 2003, UK budgeted 8.4 billion euros for that health care of the malnourished individuals. Germany budget rocked 50.1 euros in 2007 while Belgium and Netherlands have 1.7 euros each aligned for the malnourished treatment, which is estimated to be 2.8% of the total costs of healthcare.
RESEARCH METHODS
Data collection
In this proposal, I will gather primary data and secondary data. Primary data will be collected through interviews and questionnaires while secondary data shall be obtained from journal and scholarly articles available on the websites.
Primary sources
Due to the recent pandemic which has crippled all outdoor activities, I will collect primary data through phone calls, interviews on Skype and questionnaires sent via emails. This method shall comprise the collection of primary Data concerning the current trends in the provision of care to the aged will gather through telephone calls with a one-mile radius. The telephone will be most useful when dealing with illiterate respondents.
Written questionnaires will be sent to the literate participants to fill them in seven days. On the polls, I will write open-ended questions concerning the target objectives so that the respondent will give a variety of answers useful during the analysis report. Further, I will conduct interviews, participants who are willing to share response via Skype or Whatsapp video calls will be contacted at their appropriate time which will enhance research through the study of attitude and behaviour during the interviews.
Secondary sources
To ensure quality finding, I will refer to the journals; peer reviewed articled and any other relevant scholarly articles from previous studies. The data will be gathered through various sampling methods and scrutiny based on the relevance of the contents and usefulness. I will sample the articles and make summary notes based on the predetermined specific objectives
Data analysis
Primary data and secondary data
Data collected from the field will be analyzed using statistical tools such as measures of central tendencies which will be reliable for action mean and the significant construct hypothesis. Standard deviation shall also be measured and recorded, which will later be converted to variance concerning the hypothetical questions constructed before conclusions. Sampling method will be useful while analyzing the data from secondary sources. Such data will be obtained and clustered based on its reliability.
Finally, content analysis will come at hand. Correctly, this analysis will be used to interpret the data from both sources. Content analysis involves two approaches; inductive and deductive approaches. The approach involves open coding of data collected, classifications, and establishing the ground conclusions from the valid data. In this research proposal will be used, the data from the analytic tools will be grouped and abstract closely related meaning to the research topic.
Data presentation
Data presentation plays a crucial role in communicating the findings of the research. After the analysis, the information obtained will be presented graphically and in tabular forms to explaining the correlation between the variables. For the questionnaires, data will in pie charts as they serve to compare the degree of the responses. Finally, to present trends line charts will be used.
RESEARCH APPROACH
Qualitative research
This approach was mainly used to uncover the experiences on how people, makes senses of the world they are living. The approach aims at encoding, analysis, and trying to understand the theory which surrounds specific pre-specified phenomenon. It made use of constructed event such as the study of the healthy eating habits of the elderly. It went around gathering evidence to prove the theory while learning more about the phenomenon to solve societal challenges. We will rely on the primary and secondary data presented in textual format and audio recordings. The participation shall involve a small number of groups due to the sample size. Data collection methods such as interviews and questionnaires will be used in the event. Amid analysis data may be recollected at intervals to improve flexibility and its reliability
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LIMITATIONS OF THE PROPOSAL
Availability of data
Data may be inaccessible or limited since there will include no outdoor activities. Interviews may not be possible due to limitations of the technology in some households. If the sample size will be illiterate, then gathering primary data will be a challenge. Such limitation will be back up by the addition of secondary sources
The hesitance of the respondents
The neighbours who are taking care of the elderly may be reluctant to talk about to give the response. Usually, there is a fear of authorities and mistrust on the confidentiality of their response. When approaching such neighbours, it is good to create a rapport and let them know what you are work on and what are the reasons you are doing that. Friendly and assurance that no name will mention in the analysis will serve best. Secondly, the questionnaires should not allow any mention of names.
Sample size
Due to the huge cost and limited time, the sample size will be small, which renders unreliability of the data collected and may not give exhaustive evidence, back up the evidence with proper research on the archival material to boost accuracy.
CONTRIBUTIONS
Academics
This article will add to the academic knowledge by filling gaps in the research on healthy eating and nutrition benefits to the elderly.
Practice
This article shall contribute to the practice by identifying the various ways in which the elderly can be taken care to improve their health both in the homes and service centres.