The findings of the present study highlight the importance of maintaining the health of elderly assisted-living residents through strategies that enhance their mealtime experiences. Listening to the food voice of elderly through research such as that carried out in the present study will help policy makers develop a plan that will effectively deal with systemic barriers prevalent in these facilities, and incorporate strategies to motivate and encourage their residents to increase their food intake and improve their health and well-being.

Aims:The specific objective of this ongoing investigation is to assess various menu manipulations and nutrition labelling to determine if they can effectively guide the older adult consumer to select healthier food items from a menu offering meals with differing nutritional attributes. Methods:One of three randomly assigned menus and a questionnaire were distributed to 150 senior adults (> 60 years of age) living in three assisted living residences, three congregate senior day programmes, and one senior church group in New Jersey, USA. A generic control menu, a treatment menu that used various merchandizing tools to promote the healthier menu items and the same treatment menu with nutritional labels added were designed. Participants selected their top five choices and then answered a short questionnaire, which surveyed demographics and menu selection background information.Results: The researchers found that certain menu merchandizing tools were effective, while nutrition labelling did not have a substantial effect for this population.

It is well established that poor nutritional status leaves HIV-positive substance abusers especially vulnerable to an increased risk of opportunistic infections and other illnesses. Socioecological frameworks have been useful for identifying multiple influences on health risks, leading to the development and evaluation of promising community-based interventions for diseases such as cancer and diabetes. This article presents a conceptual model, based on the socioecological approach, to examine the mechanisms and pathways by which the various contextual factors unique to HIV-positive African American women with substance abuse disorders intersect to impact their nutritional health outcomes. The mediating effects of the interpersonal, environmental, and psychological factors on the direct links between disease symptomology, demographic and socioeconomic variables, and nutritional health are emphasized. The long-term goal is to provide the empirical foundation necessary to design targeted interventions that meet the unique personal, social, and familial needs of this population with multiple vulnerabilities.