Physician Assistant Program, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, 1731 E. 120Th St., Los Angeles, CA, 90059, USA.
Department of Psychiatry, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, 90059, USA.
J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2024 Aug;11(4):1857-1868. doi: 10.1007/s40615-023-01657-8. Epub 2023 Jun 19.
Unhealthy diets and inadequate exercise are associated with chronic health conditions and excess mortality. Older African Americans do not meet dietary and exercise guidelines, and this may have worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic due to individual and environmental factors, including food insecurity. Studies evaluating these dynamics are essential for developing interventions. This narrative details a study protocol and data collection experiences during the pandemic.
Participants > 55 years African American old completed detailed food frequency, exercise, and food access questionnaires between October 2020 and July 2021. Observations of the study administrators (authors of this manuscript) for the duration of the study are presented. Details on the study design and reflections on the opportunities, challenges, and lessons learned are summarized. Future manuscripts will report data analysis of study findings.
A total of 123 older African American adults participated in the study, and 118 (70% female) completed all three questionnaires. More than 50% of the participants had at least two primary chronic conditions. About 85% were fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Applying community-based participatory approaches, leveraging partnerships, and exercising flexibility approaches were pivotal to successfully implementing the study protocol.
Despite challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, detailed data on older African American adults' diet and exercise habits were obtained. Our study design and experiences will benefit future researchers. More importantly, results from our study will inform interventions and policies aimed at minimizing consequences associated with poor diet and exercise habits during the pandemic among this vulnerable population.
不健康的饮食和缺乏运动与慢性健康状况和过量死亡有关。老年非裔美国人不符合饮食和运动指南，由于个人和环境因素（包括粮食不安全），这种情况在 COVID-19 大流行期间可能恶化。评估这些动态的研究对于制定干预措施至关重要。本叙述详细介绍了大流行期间的研究方案和数据收集经验。
年龄在 55 岁以上的非裔美国参与者在 2020 年 10 月至 2021 年 7 月期间完成了详细的食物频率、运动和食物获取问卷。报告了研究管理员（本文作者）在研究期间的观察结果。总结了研究设计的详细信息以及对机会、挑战和经验教训的反思。未来的论文将报告研究结果的数据分析。
共有 123 名老年非裔美国成年人参与了这项研究，其中 118 名（70%为女性）完成了所有三份问卷。超过 50%的参与者至少有两种主要的慢性疾病。约 85%的人完全接种了 COVID-19 疫苗。应用基于社区的参与式方法、利用伙伴关系和灵活的方法对于成功实施研究方案至关重要。
尽管受到 COVID-19 大流行的挑战，但我们获得了有关老年非裔美国成年人饮食和运动习惯的详细数据。我们的研究设计和经验将使未来的研究人员受益。更重要的是，我们的研究结果将为旨在减轻在这一脆弱人群中与不良饮食和运动习惯相关的大流行后果的干预措施和政策提供信息。
