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. 2021 Apr 16;9(4):477.
doi: 10.3390/healthcare9040477.

Harnessing Stakeholder Perspectives and Experience to Address Nutrition Risk in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Catherine B Chan  1   2   3 , Naomi Popeski  1   4 , Leah Gramlich  5 , Marlis Atkins  6 , Carlota Basualdo-Hammond  6 , Janet Stadnyk  6 , Heather Keller  7
Affiliations

Harnessing Stakeholder Perspectives and Experience to Address Nutrition Risk in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Catherine B Chan et al. Healthcare (Basel). .

Abstract

Community-dwelling, older adults have a high prevalence of nutrition risk but strategies to mitigate this risk are not routinely implemented. Our objective was to identify opportunities for the healthcare system and community organizations to combat nutrition risk in this population in the jurisdiction of Alberta, Canada. An intersectoral stakeholder group that included patient representatives was convened to share perspectives and experiences and to identify problems in need of solutions using a design thinking approach. Results: Two main themes emerged from the workshop: (1) lack of awareness and poor communication of the importance of nutrition risk between healthcare providers and from healthcare providers to patients and (2) the necessity to work in partnerships comprised of patients, community organizations, healthcare providers and the health system. Conclusion: Improving awareness, prevention and treatment of malnutrition in community-dwelling older adults requires intersectoral cooperation between patients, healthcare providers and community-based organizations.

Keywords: community organizations; community-dwelling older adults; healthcare delivery; malnutrition; undernutrition.

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Conflict of interest statement

N.P., L.G., M.A., J.S. and C.B.-H. are employees of Alberta Health Services. C.B.C. was seconded to AHS at the time this research was conducted. H.K. declares no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Constituencies of knowledge users and their connections to community-dwelling older adults (green box), the healthcare system and other organizations. Solid dark blue arrows denote direct interaction of older adults with the healthcare system, government and community organizations. Stippled arrows show potential progression of older adults to requirement for home care support or long-term care. Thick striped arrows indicate the relationship between acute and primary care with community organizations, which was identified by symposium participants. It was also identified that these connections could be strengthened, for example through transitions pathways from acute to primary care. Community organizations identified that many of their services could be better utilized by augmenting connectivity between themselves and primary care. Thin arrows indicate organizations that provide policy and other leadership support for implementation of best practices; Alberta Health provides operating budgets to the primary care system and AHS. Involvement of other government organizations not directly providing healthcare was not explored in depth. Letters in parentheses reference Table 1.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Identification of initiatives that could be leveraged to address nutrition risk in community-dwelling older adults. These ideas were derived from the transcripts of the Symposium’s presentations and discussions. The figure depicts a patient-centred approach to anchor initiatives and programs. A need for intersectoral cooperation was identified, for example in facilitating transitions from hospital (acute care) to home (primary health care and community organizations) as was the existence of already present supports such as the AHS Malnutrition strategy and the CMTF pathways for transitions and primary care. Research areas to support evidence-based practice were identified. Abbreviations: EMR, electronic medical record; HCP, healthcare professionals.
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