Byker Shanks Carmen, Haack Sarah, Tarabochia Dawn, Bates Kate, Christenson Lori
Food and Health Lab, Department of Health and Human Development, Montana State University, 960 Technology Boulevard, Room 215, Bozeman, MT, 59718, USA.
Censeo Consulting Group, Washington, DC, USA.
J Community Health. 2017 Jun;42(3):511-521. doi: 10.1007/s10900-016-0283-6.
Nutrition is an essential component in promoting health and quality of life into the older adults years. The purpose of this qualitative research is to explore how the rural food environment influences food choices of older adults. Four focus groups were conducted with 33 older adults (50 years of age and older) residing in rural Montana communities. Four major themes related to factors influencing food choices among rural older adults emerged from this study: perception of the rural community environment, support as a means of increasing food access, personal access to food sources, and dietary factors. The findings from this current study warrant further research and promotion of specifically tailored approaches that influence the food choices of older adults in the rural western USA, including the developing and expanding public transportation systems, increasing availability of local grocers with quality and affordable food options, increasing awareness and decreasing stigma surrounding community food programs, and increasing nutrition education targeting senior health issues.
营养是促进老年人健康和生活质量的重要组成部分。这项定性研究的目的是探讨农村食物环境如何影响老年人的食物选择。对居住在蒙大拿州农村社区的33名老年人（50岁及以上）进行了四个焦点小组访谈。该研究得出了与影响农村老年人食物选择因素相关的四个主要主题：对农村社区环境的认知、作为增加食物获取途径手段的支持、个人获取食物来源的情况以及饮食因素。当前这项研究的结果值得进一步研究，并推广专门针对影响美国西部农村地区老年人食物选择的定制方法，包括发展和扩大公共交通系统、增加提供优质且价格合理食物选择的当地杂货店、提高对社区食物计划的认识并减少相关污名化、以及增加针对老年人健康问题的营养教育。
