Thesis
Facilitators and barriers to healthy eating and disease management among low-income seniors residing in subsidized housing: a case study
Master of Science (M.S.), Drexel University
Jun 2015
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/etd-6310
Abstract
Low-income seniors residing in subsidized housing may develop unhealthy eating behaviors and experience poor health outcomes due to a lack of access to fresh produce in their local environment. Guild House West (GHW) is a Quaker-run subsidized housing facility for seniors and disabled individuals located in the West Poplar neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. GHW was established and is managed by Friends Rehabilitation Program, a Quaker-related non-profit, whose mission is to provide affordable housing and social services for seniors, low-income persons, and individuals with special needs. GHW is located in a neighborhood with low access to supermarkets but has the unique feature of a community garden implemented by the nonprofit organization Greener Partners. There is also a food pantry on site offering packaged goods to the residents once a week. Community-based participatory research was incorporated to establish a community partnership between Drexel University's Nutrition Sciences Department, Greener Partners, and GHW. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to incorporate formative research methods to gain a better understanding of the nutrition-related needs of the population living in a subsidized housing facility for future research. The researcher determined if community-driven nutrition education programing could be implemented to facilitate improvements in dietary intake and self-management of nutrition-related chronic conditions among low-income seniors. This manuscript describes the preliminary stage of the formative research process, as the researcher collected information using ethnographic and phenomenological approaches to help inform the rest of the research process. Following 12 months of interacting directly with the GHW population, common themes and behaviors were identified. The two aspects of the case study focus on themes seen in 1) food focus groups during cooking classes 2) food pantry use and barriers to access. Focus group questions were developed and residents were invited in-person and through a weekly newsletter to participate in food focus groups by GHW management and the researcher. Participation in the GHW community food pantry was pursued initially to better understand the needs of the residents for future research/programming. A thematic analysis was performed using NVivo 10, a software package that is used to organize and manage qualitative databases. Generalizable information was gathered on the beliefs and behaviors of the GHW residents. Seven major themes and sub-themes were derived from the NVivo 10 Software data analysis of the attitudes and behaviors of the residents at GHW during food focus groups and food pantry participation. Themes included negative dietary attitudes about diet quality, challenges of change around nutrition and healthy eating, external barriers in the food environment, negative influences in the internal environment, disconnect between disease state and nutrition recommendations, difficulties of disease self-management through dietary modifications, and interest for learning new recipes to improve nutrition knowledge base. The significance of understanding the attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs surrounding the internal and external challenges to healthful eating were classified in this case study. Acknowledging the impact that barriers had on the social and personal constructs of low-income seniors residing in subsidized housing was found to be a successful strategy in informing the research process for future nutrition programming. The themes are considered generalizable to similar populations indicating that community-driven nutrition education programming can be implemented within a subsidized living setting to facilitate improvements in dietary intake and self-management of disease among low-income seniors. This research uncovered two novel concepts; residents were not familiar with healthier food options that were not culturally relevant and community tensions existed among the residents due to lack of social cohesion. Future research must consider these novel concepts while developing nutrition programming within subsidized housing facilities.
Metrics
47 File views/ downloads
37 Record Views
Details
- Title
- Facilitators and barriers to healthy eating and disease management among low-income seniors residing in subsidized housing
- Creators
- Katherine Frances Petroka - DU
- Contributors
- Brandy-Joe Milliron (Advisor) - Drexel University (1970-)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Master of Science (M.S.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Nutrition Sciences; College of Nursing and Health Professions; Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 6310; 991014632652704721