Evaluation of Nutrition Education Interventions for Older Adults: Integrating Age differences in goals into Self-Regulation Model of Behavior Changes

BACKGROUND: Prevention programs to reduce dietary risks have traditionally focused on children and younger adults. However, some researchers have started to focus their interest on older adults due to demographic changes and rising medical expenditure with the onset of several major chronic diseases. Benefits of nutrition education in controlling health care costs and safeguarding older adults’ quality of life have become evident that educational interventions can make a positive difference for older learners. OBJECTIVES: By integrating age differences in goals and self-regulation model of behavior change, this 2-years proposal aims to 1) examine the Socioemotional Selectivity Theory postulates that, as people age, they prioritize emotionally meaningful goals. Furthermore, this study aims to investigate whether age differences in goals influence the ways in which older adults evaluate and remember health diet messages.; 2) to test whether a dietary intervention that combined age differences in goals with self-regulation strategies had a better effect on healthy diet behavior and treatment outcomes for elderly diabetes patients. METHODS: In study 1, a total of 240 patients seeking diet health counseling will be recruited. Among them , half are older adults aged above 60 y/o and the rest aged between 18 to 45 y/o. Participants will be randomly assigned to read health pamphlets with identical factual information but emphasizing emotional, future-oriented, or neutral goals. It is hypothesized that health messages that emphasized emotional goals, but not those that emphasized future-oriented or neutral goals, will be better remembered, be evaluated more positively and lead to greater behavioral changes among older adults. In study 2, a total of 180 diabetes patients aged above 60 y/o will be recruited and participated in a 6-month randomized controlled trial comparing two brief interventions: goal-matched information versus goal-matched + self regulation. All participants received the same information intervention;, while those in the goal-matched plus self-regulation group additionally learned a self-regulation technique that integrates implementation intentions. Main outcome measures (i.e. dietary behavior, HbA1c, and diet-related QoL) will be collected in the first, 3rd, and 6th months after intervention. It is expected that adding self-regulation training to an goal-matched information intervention increased its effectiveness for long-term diet behavior change and treatment outcomes for diabetes. CONCLUSIONS: The proposal aims to examine the effectiveness of nutrition interventions for older adults by integrating age differences in goals and self-regulation skills. Using appropriate teaching and behavioral change methods, medical professionals can help older adults make educated choices about their diets and lifestyles in order for them to maximize their nutritional status and enjoy healthful aging.

Project ID:PF10202-0962
External Project ID:NSC101-2410-H182-016-MY2