(P30-001-24) Investigating the Impact of an Inclusive, Community-Based Food Model on Health, Wellbeing and Social Connectedness of Older People: A Study Protocol

Objectives: Inequalities in healthy ageing are driven by biological, social and economic determinants with those living in poverty and social deprivation exhibiting poorer health outcomes in older age. While community-based food models with multigenerational components have been proposed to enhance the health, wellbeing, quality of life and social engagement, very few have been co-produced, robustly evaluated or impacted policy and practice. This research aims to co-create and evaluate a novel community-based food model to improve nutrition, health, wellbeing and social connectedness of older adults living in a socially deprived inner-city community.

Methods: The study will be a single group pre-post intervention study to investigate the effectiveness of co-produced community-based food activities on the health, wellbeing and social connectedness of older adults. Interventions for the model will focus on communal food growing and gardening activities, food preparation and cooking activities, meal sharing, enjoying and choosing a healthy diet, food-related craft activities and storytelling around food. Community-dwelling older adults 60 years old and above, living in a socially deprived inner-city community will be recruited. A mixed-method evaluation will be conducted. Quantitative data including blood pressure, body composition, diet quality, social engagement, physical activity, health-related quality of life and age-friendliness of community will be collected using validated measures. Outcomes will be measured at baseline and 12 weeks to reduce interindividual variability and enable tracking of changes over time. Qualitative data will be collected using Photovoice, a visual, robust and validated community-based research participatory method.

Results: N/A

Conclusions: This research will provide new knowledge and evidence base on measurable outcomes on nutrition, health, wellbeing, social connectedness and quality of life of older adults living in socially deprived communities. The findings and shared learning will inform global ageing-related research, policy and the design of multigenerational age-diverse housing and community programs to promote community cohesion and healthy lifestyle to improve healthy aging.

Funding Sources: This work is funded by a grant from the Dunhill Medical Trust.