Chaudhuri Nandita, Alvi Laila Hussain, Williams Ashleigh
Public Policy Research Institute, Texas A&M University, 4476 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843 USA.
Z Gesundh Wiss. 2023 Jan 23:1-13. doi: 10.1007/s10389-022-01800-5.
Senior participation in the congregate meal programs (CMPs) has alarmingly declined over the past decade in Texas as elsewhere in the nation. The purpose of this survey study was to identify the possible reasons for this decline from the viewpoint of the Texas physicians and nurses who are key in coordinating care and ensuring food security for the vulnerable older Texans by referring them to community-based long-term support services (LTSS).
The methodology adopted was an online panel survey of physicians and nurses from rural and urban Texas counties. Structured multiple-choice and open-ended questions primarily focused on provider referral processes, reasons for connecting older clients to CMPs, perceptions about various aspects of these programs, possible reasons for the decline in participation, suggestions to make the programs an integral part of the community-based LTSS referral system, and how to address the COVID-19 pandemic constraints on the programs.
As a majority of the healthcare providers surveyed were unaware of the CMPs in their communities, the study spotlighted an urgent need for a better-coordinated referral process centered on strategic marketing and awareness-building about the CMPs, including an extensive healthcare provider education component as well as an overall improvement in meal quality and variety.
The study highlights a need for additional research so decision-makers better understand how to best disseminate information to healthcare providers to improve the referral mechanisms, increase the referrals, and enhance the overall CMP program quality to benefit the vulnerable food-insecure older adults.
在得克萨斯州，与美国其他地方一样，老年人参与集体用餐计划（CMPs）的比例在过去十年中惊人地下降。这项调查研究的目的是从得克萨斯州医生和护士的角度找出下降的可能原因，他们在通过将弱势老年得克萨斯人转介到社区长期支持服务（LTSS）来协调护理和确保食品安全方面起着关键作用。
采用的方法是对来自得克萨斯州农村和城市县的医生和护士进行在线小组调查。结构化的多项选择题和开放式问题主要集中在提供者转介流程、将老年客户与CMPs联系起来的原因、对这些计划各个方面的看法、参与率下降的可能原因、使这些计划成为基于社区的LTSS转介系统不可或缺一部分的建议，以及如何应对COVID-19大流行对这些计划的限制。
由于接受调查的大多数医疗保健提供者不了解其社区中的CMPs，该研究突出表明迫切需要一个更好协调的转介流程，该流程以对CMPs进行战略营销和提高认识为中心，包括广泛的医疗保健提供者教育内容以及膳食质量和种类的整体改善。
该研究强调需要进行更多研究，以便决策者更好地了解如何最好地向医疗保健提供者传播信息，以改善转介机制、增加转介数量并提高CMP计划的整体质量，从而使弱势的粮食不安全老年人受益。
