Working with Individuals Who Provide Nursing Care to Educate Older Adults about Foodborne Illness Prevention: The Food Safety Because You Care! Intervention

Abstract

Older adults are more susceptible to foodborne infections than younger adults and many older adults do not follow recommended food safety practices. This study implemented the Food Safety Because You Care ! program with 88 individuals in the United States who provide nursing care to older adult patients and subsequently surveyed them. The majority of respondents had favorable opinions of the program. Following program exposure, many of the respondents advised their older adult patients about food safety. The findings from this study suggest that the program is a useful tool that can assist those who provide nursing care as they interact with their older patients and lead them to positively influence older adults’ food safety practices. However, more research is needed to examine changes in providers’ behaviors as a result of program exposure and the accompanying effect on older adults’ food safety practices.