NutritioN risk factors amoNg home delivered aNd coNgregate meal participaNts: Need for eNhaNcemeNt of NutritioN educatioN aNd couNseliNg amoNg home delivered meal participaNts

the short-term impact of nutrition education and counseling intervention on nutrition risk factors among home delivered (hdm) and congregate (cGm) meal participants using nutrition Survey risk Screening was studied. design: a two-year intervention was conducted with 355 participants (n=259 cGm, n=96 hdm). Various nutrition behaviors that affect the nutrition risk score were compared. setting: congregate and home delivered meal locations in a northern county of new Jersey. participants: cGm and hdm participants in a northern county of new Jersey age 60 and older. intervention: cGm participants received regular topical nutrition education and counseling in a classroom format with cooking demo, discussion, and handouts. the hdm participants only received the printed material (same handouts) and counseling by telephone. measurements: demographics, medical condition, risk factors data were collected. all participants completed the 12 items checklist nutrition Survey risk Screening. nutritional behaviors assessed include number of meals eaten per day, servings of fruits and vegetables and nutrition risk score. a score of 6 or more points was defined as persons at high risk nutritionally. the impact of the intervention was evaluated using anoVa/chi-square on nutrition Survey risk Screening. Results: nutrition education and counseling intervention improved nutrition risk scores; 5.76 to 5.32 (p=0.14) in cGm, 8.1 to 6.1 (p<0.01) in hdm. a slight improvement in nutrition behaviors was noted: eating ≥ 2 meals in hdm (76 to 81.6 %, p= .310), eating ≥ 5 servings of fruits & vegetables in cGm (38 to 41.4 %, p=. 398). conclusion: appropriate nutrition intervention for both hdm and cGm participants can improve health condition and delay chronic diseases. hdm participants need to be a primary focus for more effective nutrition education and counseling