Effect of Nutritional Health Education Program on Elderly Nutritional Knowledge, Attitude and Practice in Abu Khalifa Primary Health Care Center, Ismailia Governorate
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- Category: Vol. 81, June 2013
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Effect of Nutritional Health Education Program on Elderly Nutritional Knowledge, Attitude and Practice in Abu Khalifa Primary Health Care Center, Ismailia Governorate,REHAB A. MOHAMED, MOHAMMED M. AWAD, SAID I. SHALABY and HEBATOLLAH N.E. ABDELSATAR
Abstract
Introduction: Old age is the greatest challenge that an individual faces. It is a continuous process that begins with conception and ends with death. Malnutrition among the aged is caused by a number of factors such as condition of the family, illiteracy, poverty, ignorance, superstition, lack of food, frequent infections etc. In the era of population aging, understanding the dynamic needs along with social psycho-logical dynamics of help-seeking behavior among elderly persons is fundamental to assessing the impact of food pro-grams.
Aim of the Study: The aim of this study was to improve elderly nutritional knowledge, attitude, and practice.
Subjects and Methods: An interventional study design with pre-post assessment was used. It involved (115) elderly who were selected through a consecutive sample. An interview questionnaire form was designed by the researcher to collect the data pertaining to the study objectives.
Results: The pre-post changes in the intake of the main food groups according to recommended daily requirements showed significant decrease of cereals (p0.001), and increase of dairy products (p=0.03). The total knowledge increased from a pre-intervention level of 26.1% to a post-level of 82.6% (p<0.001). The percentage of elderly with total positive attitude increased from a pre-intervention level of 28.7% to a post-level of 60.0% (p<0.001). The percentage of elderly taking balanced diet increased from 7.8% at the pre-intervention phase to 11.3% at the post-phase. The statistically significant independent predictors of the knowledge scores were the intervention and the level of education, income, and health perception, all being positive.
Conclusion: The counseling intervention was effective in improving their knowledge and changing their attitudes to more positive, which led to improvements in their dietary practices.