Pilot Study: Increasing Vegetable Intake in Australian Seniors

Pilot Study: Increasing Vegetable Intake in Australian Seniors

Alecia Chan Boon

Charles Darwin University Faculty of Psychological Science

PSY365: Applied Community and Health Psychology

Dr. Kim M. Caudwell

Due Friday 12th April 2024

Word count: 850

Pilot Study: Increasing Vegetable Intake in Australian Seniors

With advancing years, the probability of acquiring persistent medical problems increases (AIHW, 2018). Sufficient nutrition is crucial for preserving a high standard of living, as it helps diminish chronic issues that originate from suboptimal dietary decisions. Regrettably, almost 80% of adults fail to consume the recommended daily number of nutritional items (AIHW, 2018). Our primary aim for this pilot study is to see an overall improvement of fruit and vegetable consumption among Australian seniors. By actively involving the community in this endeavor, we can trigger behavioral changes and enhance health results for the elderly through a structured plan of cue-action contingencies that encourage habit formation, ultimately leading to increased consumption of fruits and vegetables in communal settings (Hagger, 2020).

The primary objective of the Habit Theory is to inspire lasting behavioral transformation, but it is crucial to provide behavioral follow-up to achieve this aim. The integration of theoretical concepts, including those from the Ecological Model and Social Cognitive Theory, has led to enhanced caloric intake and improved nutritional-related health outcomes in a high-risk population of Senior Australians. Habit formation presents a promising approach for facilitating sustained behavior change interventions. Unlike motivational models of behavior change, habit formation has the potential to generate enduring behavioral modifications.

Noteworthy advancements have made characterizing the features of habit formation, particularly in terms of establishing cue-action contingencies to allow for repetition. Verplanken (2016) features goal independence as a salient characteristic of this construct. To determine long-term efficacy of habitual interventions we first must compare it to motivational interventions to promote sustained behavior change, it is essential to conduct extended behavioral follow-up. Undesirable habits possess the same characteristics as desired habits, which means that reversing undesirable habits poses a significant challenge for the science of behavior change. It is on this premise we promulgate Habit theory, to informs our community psychology pilot study.

Figure 1.1 Strategies to prevent habit.

Adopting theoretical approaches within a social justice framework implies the current allocation of resources is not adequately serving those who require these first and second order changes as a preventative measure for sustainable transformation and improved nutritional outcomes for Australian seniors (Australian Government Department of Health, 2022).

This theoretical framework provides specific components of behavioral interventions that promote seniors' autonomy over their own health outcomes in a supportive manner, grounded in the principle of human need to prevent the rise of chronic health issues within the Australian senior population. If Senior Australians are encouraged to use more appealing fruit and vegetable containers, this may eventually lead to the development of habitual behavior preceding consumption, as the container becomes a learned cue to motivate eating autonomy / behaviour.

The study is designed to evaluate the salient uptake of fruit and vegetables within the sample groups of random subjects with an intention to measure habitual practices that stimulate both appetite and improve undernutrition. As Roberts et al. (2019) further points to the challenge of managing undernutrition in Senior populations it is qualitative research methods we used to exhaust interview techniques within the cohort of (N = 10) Senior participants (of mixed gender and ethnicities). Valid and reliable information gathering provided the required outcomes we were hoping for in that fruit and vegetable preferences became increasingly desirable on sight when packed neatly given habit forming motivations in place Subjects were asked a series of questions related to consumption of vegetables and fruit, regularity of consumption, cost of obtaining fruit and vegetables, quality of produce and accessibility of produce.

Participants expected nicely presented consumables when this occurred all would be consumed. This in turn motivated attitudes around anxiety accessing supermarkets, ordering online and being computer illiterate, or distress and fear surrounding strangers delivering parcels to the front door. Future research ought to delineate the aetiology of malnutrition more precisely and ascertain the most salient causes to forestall malnutrition.

Volkert (2019) concurs; despite the existence of limited and partially contradictory evidence and the constraints of prevailing studies, it is not yet apparent which interventions are most effective in which patient populations, or if certain circumstances surrounding the dichotomy of malnutrition necessitate distinct approaches.

Patient-centric outcomes such as functionality and quality of life deserve ongoing increased attention on a community level calling for research methodologies to become centralised to permit future comparison of studies support Habitual behaviour change across Australias aging populations.

References

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2022, August 30). Long-term health conditions. ABS. https://www.abs.gov.au/articles/long-term-health-conditions.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108677318.013

Figure 1.1 Strategies to prevent habitLocher, J. L., Bales, C. W., Ellis, A. C., Lawrence, J. C., Newton, L., Ritchie, C. S., Vickers, K. S. (2011). A Theoretically Based Behavioral Nutrition Intervention for Community Elders at High Risk: The B-NICE Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.Journal of Nutrition in Gerontology and Geriatrics,30(4), 384402. doi.org/10.1080/21551197.2011.623955Nieuwenhuizen, F. W., Weenen, H., Rigby, R., Hetherington, M. M. (2010)

Older adults and patients in need of nutritional support: Review of current treatment options and factors influencing nutritional intake, Clinical Nutrition, 29(2), 160-169.

Orbell, S., Verplanken, B. Changing Behavior Using Habit Theory (2020), pp. 178192

The Handbook of Behavior Change. (2020). InThe Handbook of Behavior Change(pp. iiiiii). Cambridge University Press.

Verplanken,B., &Roy,D.(2016).Empowering interventions to promote sustainable lifestyles: Testing the habit discontinuity hypothesis in a field experiment.Journal of Environmental Psychology,45,127134.

Volkert D, Beck AM, Cederholm T, Cereda E, Cruz-Jentoft A, Goisser S, de Groot L, Grobhauser F, Kiesswetter E, Norman K, et al. Management of Malnutrition in Older PatientsCurrent Approaches, Evidence and Open Questions.Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2019; 8(7) pp 974. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm8070974