Outcomes and Recommendations from Telenutrition Intervention in Senior Centers

Following reports that nutrition screening intervention scores were not improving upon annual reassessment, Open Hand Atlanta and the Department of Human Services, Division of Aging partnered to fill in critical gaps in nutrition education for seniors in the state of Georgia. In 2022 we piloted telenutrition programming in senior centers, offering monthly one-hour virtual nutrition education sessions covering topics such as healthy eating on a budget and bone health while additionally offering up to five individual nutrition counseling sessions per person.

The goals of this program are to increase nutrition knowledge among Georgia seniors by connecting those at highest nutrition risk with an RDN for medical nutrition therapy and to develop and standardize virtual nutrition presentations for use in senior centers across the state. Preliminary results of the program show overall knowledge improvement of 2-5% per session. Reported satisfaction is high with 87% of participants indicating that they would like to continue these sessions in a virtual format.

We share additional food security, diet and perceived health outcomes observed after 12 months of sessions in this presentation in addition to discussions of challenges, successes and lessons learned in implementation of this pilot program.

CPE Level: Level 2 (intermediate knowledge/experience)
CPEU: 1.0

Performance Indicators

• 9.3.2 Develops a variety of learning activities based on a plan of action and the needs of individuals, groups, communities and populations.
• 5.1.4 Demonstrates knowledge of system interfaces used in the delivery of service.
• 6.2.3 Analyzes and interprets data to form valid conclusions and to make recommendations.

Learning Objectives

• Describe a virtual nutrition education intervention designed for individuals attending senior centers.
• Employ best practices and lessons learned in similar programs and interventions.
• Evaluate effectiveness of the pilot program based on data shared.

Moderator

• Laura Samnadda

Speakers

• Rachel Berton
• Renae Brown