Healthy Aging and Diet: Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices

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Methodology

Aim and Objectives

The aim of the study is to describe the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of older adults regarding the role of diet in healthy aging. To reach the aim of the study, the following objectives are set:

To assess the older adults knowledge on the role of diet in healthy living;
To describe the attitudes of older adults regarding the role of nutrition in the aging;
To describe the nutritional practices affecting aging, followed by older adults.

This section details the methods that will be used to conduct the current research and will describe the study design, sample, population, inclusion and exclusion criteria, research variables, validity and reliability of research instruments used, pilot study, data analysis approach, ethical considerations, budget, and implementation of research findings.

Research Design

The current study will use a cross-sectional, descriptive research design, with a quantitative analytical focus. According to Salvador (2016), a quantitative research design uses several data sources to collect sufficient information to enable the researcher to create a model for the issue studied. Descriptive research is mostly used in ethnographic surveys, and making use of a quantitative approach is valuable to quantify findings (Solheim et al., 2017). By using a quantitative descriptive design, this study will collect and analyze data, to produce outcome recommendations that are meaningful to the study population and similar populations.

Study Population

The study population will include older men and women, living in The Springs of Parc Hill, a retirement community situated in Orange City, Florida. This community includes White, Black, Asian, and Hispanic adults of retirement age.

Participants and Sample Selection

This research will use a convenient sampling technique to select the participants for this study. The survey will include individuals that respond to an invitation to participate in the study, based on the inclusion criteria that the study will adopt. In particular, this research will study the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of older people aged 65 years and older regarding diet and exercise. Approximately 230 older adults are accommodated in the retirement community. It is proposed to include 30% of the participants, which will result in a sample size of at least 49 participants. According to Vasileiou et al. (2018), sample sizes matter the most when the results reliability is concerned in quantitative research. Therefore, the higher the number of participants, the more accurate the results of the investigation will be.

Inclusion Criteria

This study will include adults who are 65 years and older who volunteer to participate in the study and are able to complete an online questionnaire without assistance. Only members of The Springs of Parc Hill community will be included in the study.

Exclusion Criteria

The following exclusion criteria will be used:

Adults aged below 65 years old;
Any visitors or members not registered with the administrative office, who are not part of the community; and
Elderly people do not have the ability without assistance.

Study Procedure

Before implementing the study, the researcher will seek ethics approval from Stetson Universitys Institutional Review Board (IRB). Upon IRB approval, the researcher will seek approval from the local administration of the facility to conduct the study within the facility. Flyers will be printed and posted to the local center to communicate the studys intention and invite participation. The flyer will contain particulars where participants can register to take the survey. Individuals who volunteer to participate will then log into the website to complete the survey within the Qualtrics software platform. After completion of the study, each participant will be offered the opportunity to provide their contact details in a separate survey for a chance to win one of ten $10 gift cards to encourage participation.

Variables Measured

This study will measure knowledge, attitudes, and practices within different demographics. In particular, these will include age, gender, and ethnicity, perceived health status, meal preparation responsibility information on shared meals, marital status, and family income. The study will test and describe participants knowledge of any particular nutritional aspect, such as asking participants about their understanding of energy-giving food among older and younger populations. This study will also collect data on protein, carbohydrates, water, fiber, fats and oils, and vitamins, particularly, Vitamin D intake requirements among older adults. To measure the participants attitudes towards diet, the study will seek to understand participants attitudes on the importance of eating healthy food with aging and describe nutrition-related attitudes towards other topics of concern for older adults.

The participants will also be asked about the frequency of their meals, the number of meals taken per day, and the frequency of taking breakfast per week to help measure their nutritional practices. The recent changes in RDAs will be used to assess how the older adults meet the recommended daily nutritional requirements. For instance, they will be evaluated on whether they take over eight water servings per day, have enough carbohydrates from foods such as bread, fortified cereals, rice, and pasta, and get three vegetable servings per day. Moreover, their fruit serving patterns will be determined, particularly, if they meet the recommended two servings per day. Furthermore, the participants will be assessed on whether they meet the new RDA provision that the elderly should have over two servings of different foods rich in protein such as milk, yogurt, and cheese, and meat, poultry, fish, and eggs.

Pilot Study

A pilot study will be conducted after IRB approval has been obtained. Five individuals, 65 years or older, from the study population, will be approached to complete the questionnaire and provide feedback on the questions and the process. Data collected during the pilot project will not be included in the final study. Changes will be made to the questionnaire based on feedback from the pilot study participants.

Study procedures

The following timeframe is planned for the execution of this study:

20 January 2021 IRB approval request submitted
February 2021 Pilot study and adaption of the questionnaire
20 February 2021 Advertising of study
March 2021 Data collection
April 2021 Analysis of data and report writing
May- 2021 Finalization of report

Reliability and Validity Measurements and Research Instruments

The current research will explicitly define its objectives, study population, sample to use in the study. This will ensure that the survey takes place within the specified limits and variables, thus creating a valid research outcome. This study will also adhere to all the IRB requirements to ensure that data collection is credible, dependable, and according to ethical standards. Anonymous data collection, directly by the participants in the privacy of their homes will increase the reliability of data collected.

Data Analysis

This study will use Qualtrics software, an online platform for data collection and analysis. Qualtrics software will be used to allow integration of an extensive array of questions, and have the ability to export the data in different formats (Tharp & Landrum, 2017). Research findings will be presented by using tables, graphs, and pie charts, depending on the nature of the data. Basic descriptive statistics will be used to report data and associations between variables will be reported.

Ethical Considerations

The current study will adhere to ethical principles by ensuring that the data collected are secure and protected from unauthorized users. The research will be approved by the IRB to ensure ethical conduct. No participant will indicate their name or reveal their identity anywhere in the survey and survey links will be anonymous. Informed consent will be obtained from all participants before completing the survey.

Budget

ITEM	MOTIVATION	QUANTITY	COST PER UNIT	TOTAL
Gift cards	To encourage participation in the study.	TEN	$10.00	$100.00

Funding will be provided by the Department of Health Sciences, Stetson University.

Implementation of Research Findings

The study will use problem identification and reporting as a basis for implementing this researchs findings. The survey will be guided by the CDCs problem identification and reporting guideline for public health (CDC, 2019). The model describes problem identification elements, as shown in figure 1 below, which include establishing the root cause of the problem and developing a detailed problem statement, defining its effect on the identified population. This step is essential because several stakeholders are involved in policymaking processes and are affected by this particular health issue. Moreover, by using this framework and the concerned parties, it will be easier to identify and accurately frame the issue under investigation since each problem is distinct from another.

Figure 1. Problem identification framework

The framework defines the exact ways to identify a problem within a specific society. According to the CDC (2019), a root cause of health issues can be identified by collecting information and then involving stakeholders in understanding it. This will be done by combining the existing literature and data obtained from the associates to give insight into the issues and their possible causes. This will be done by considering information that will assist in defining the health challenge. Thus, the study will begin by scanning the environment, reviewing the literature, and surveying the community.

The success of problem identification will be assessed by ensuring that all the relevant information is collected. The data from research and stakeholders are combined with that collected from the community under investigation. This success will be measured by meeting all the primary objectives stated. The data collected related to the problem and conclusively defined it, thereby providing the complete picture of the issue. Moreover, the problem identification will be considered complete when it includes the older adults, addresses their knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding the role of diet in healthy aging, and the possible cause of the issue. The study findings will then be reported to different stakeholders and older adults in the community so that the information can be used for better health outcomes among the elderly.

References

CDC. (2019). Problem identification. Web.

Porter, J., Nguo, K., Collins, J., Kellow, N., Huggins, C.E., Gibson, S., Davidson, Z., Schoeller, D., Prentice, R., Neuhouser, M.L. and Snetselaar, L. (2019). Total energy expenditure measured using doubly labeled water compared with estimated energy requirements in older adults (e 65 y): Analysis of primary data. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 110(6), 1353-1361.

Salvador, J. T. (2016). Exploring quantitative and qualitative methodologies: A guide to novice nursing researchers. European Scientific Journal, 12(18). Web.

Solheim, E., Plathe, H. S., & Eide, H. (2017). Nursing students evaluation of a new feedback and reflection tool for use in high-fidelity simulationFormative assessment of clinical skills. A descriptive quantitative research design. Nurse Education in Practice, 27, 114-120. Web.

Tharp, K., & Landrum, J. (2017, March). Qualtrics advanced survey software tools. Indiana University Workshop in Methods.

Vasileiou, K., Barnett, J., Thorpe, S., & Young, T. (2018). Characterizing and justifying sample size sufficiency in interview-based studies: Systematic analysis of qualitative health research over a 15-year period. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 18(1), 148. Web.

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