Bukman Andrea Johanna, Ronteltap Amber, Lebrun Mila
Knowledge Centre Healthy and Sustainable Living, University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, P.O. box 12011, 3501 AA, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Alimentation Science Department, Danone Research, Palaiseau, France.
BMC Nutr. 2020 Nov 11;6(1):55. doi: 10.1186/s40795-020-00383-2.
Eating behaviour of older adults is influenced by a complex interaction of determinants. Understanding the determinants of a specific target group is important when developing targeted health-promoting strategies. The aim of this study was to explore interpersonal determinants of eating behaviours in older adults living independently in a specific neighbourhood in the Netherlands.
In the neighbourhood of interest, populated by relatively many older adults, fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with independently living older adults (aged 76.9 ± 6.4y). Interviews were complemented with observations among the target group: three occasions of grocery shopping and three collective eating occasions in the neighbourhood. A thematic approach was used to analyse the qualitative data.
When we asked the older adults unprompted why they eat what they eat, the influence of interpersonal determinants did not appear directly; respondents rather mentioned individual (e.g. habits) and environmental factors (e.g. food accessibility). Key findings regarding interpersonal factors were: 1) Behaviours are shaped by someone's context; 2) Living alone influences (determinants of) eating behaviour via multiple ways; 3) There is a salient norm that people do not interfere with others' eating behaviour; 4) Older adults make limited use of social support (both formal and informal) for grocery shopping and cooking, except for organised eating activities in the neighbourhood. In this particular neighbourhood, many facilities (e.g. shops at walking distance) are present, and events (e.g. dinners) are organised with and for the target group, which likely impact (determinants of) their behaviours.
The study showed that older adults do not directly think of interpersonal factors influencing their eating behaviour, but rather of individual or environmental factors. However, multiple interpersonal factors did appear in the interviews and observations. Moreover, neighbourhood-specific factors seem to play a role, which underlines the need to understand the specific (social) setting when developing and implementing intervention programmes. Insights from this study can assist in developing health-promoting strategies for older adults, taking into account the context of the specific neighbourhood.
老年人的饮食行为受到多种决定因素的复杂相互作用的影响。在制定有针对性的健康促进策略时，了解特定目标群体的决定因素很重要。本研究的目的是探讨在荷兰一个特定社区独立生活的老年人饮食行为的人际决定因素。
在一个老年人相对较多的感兴趣社区，对15名独立生活的老年人（年龄76.9±6.4岁）进行了半结构化访谈。访谈还辅以对目标群体的观察：三次杂货店购物场合和社区内三次集体用餐场合。采用主题分析法对定性数据进行分析。
当我们在未提示的情况下询问老年人为什么吃他们所吃的食物时，人际决定因素的影响并未直接显现；受访者更多地提到了个人因素（如习惯）和环境因素（如食物可及性）。关于人际因素的主要发现如下：1）行为受某人所处环境的影响；2）独居通过多种方式影响饮食行为（的决定因素）；3）存在一种显著的规范，即人们不干涉他人的饮食行为；4）除了社区内有组织的饮食活动外，老年人在杂货店购物和烹饪方面对社会支持（包括正式和非正式支持）的利用有限。在这个特定的社区，有许多便利设施（如步行可达的商店），并且为目标群体组织了各种活动（如晚宴），这可能会影响他们行为（的决定因素）。
该研究表明，老年人不会直接想到影响他们饮食行为的人际因素，而是会想到个人或环境因素。然而，在访谈和观察中确实出现了多种人际因素。此外，特定社区因素似乎发挥了作用，这凸显了在制定和实施干预计划时了解特定（社会）环境的必要性。本研究的见解有助于为老年人制定健康促进策略，同时考虑到特定社区的背景。
