Participation in home-delivered meals programs may contribute to the health and independence of older adults living in the community, especially those who are food insecure or those who are making transitions from acute, subacute, and chronic care settings to the home. The purpose of this study was to conduct a comprehensive and systematic review of ALL studies related to home-delivered meals in order to shed light on the state of the science. A complete review of articles appearing in PubMed using the Keyword “Meal” was conducted; and titles, abstracts, and full-texts were screened for relevance. Included in this review are 80 articles. Most studies are descriptive and do not report on outcomes. Frequently reported outcomes included nutritional status based upon self-reported dietary intake. Additionally, most studies included in this review are cross-sectional, have a small sample size, and/or are limited to a particular setting or participant population. More rigorous research is needed to: 1) gain insight into why so few eligible older adults access home-delivered meals programs, 2) support expansion of home-delivered meals to all eligible older adults, 3) better identify what home-delivered meals models alone and in combination with other services works best and for whom, and 4) better target home-delivered meals programs where and when resources are scarce.

Background After older adults experience episodes of poor health or are hospitalized, they may not return to pre-morbid eating behaviors. Furthermore, poor nutrition increases hospital readmission risk, but evidence-based interventions addressing these risks are limited. Objective The pilot study’s objective was to evaluate the feasibility of conducting a randomized controlled trial assessing a post-discharge home-delivered meals program’s impact on older adults’ nutritional intake and hospital readmissions and to assess patient acceptability and satisfaction with the program. The aims of the study were to 1) to evaluate successful recruitment, randomization, and retention of at least 80% of the 24 participants sought; 2) to compare the outcomes of hospital readmission and total daily caloric intake between participants in the intervention and control groups; and 3) to assess patient acceptability and satisfaction with the program. Design This study used a two-arm randomized controlled trial design, and baseline data were collected at enrollment; three 24-hour food recalls were collected during the intervention period; and health services utilization and intervention satisfaction was evaluated 45 days post-discharge. Participants/setting Twenty-four patients from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Hospital’s Acute Care for Elders Unit were enrolled from May 2014 to June 2015. They were 65 or older, at risk of malnutrition, cognitively intact, able to communicate, discharged to a place where the patient or family was responsible for preparing meals, and diagnosed with congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, acute myocardial infarction, or pneumonia. Final analysis included 21 participants. Intervention The intervention group received 10 days of home-delivered meals and nutrition education; the control group received usual care and nutrition education. Main outcome measures The main outcome was intervention feasibility, measured by recruitment and retention goals. Hospital readmissions, caloric intake, and satisfaction with the intervention were also evaluated. Statistical analyses performed Univariate and bivariate parametric statistics were used to evaluate differences between groups. Goals for success were identified to assess feasibility of conducting a full-scale study, and outcomes were measured against the goals. Results 87.5% of randomized participants were retained for final data collection, indicating that this intervention study is feasible. There were no significant differences between groups for hospital readmissions; however, caloric intake during the intervention period was greater for intervention vs. control participants (1595 vs. 1235, p=.03). Participants were overwhelmingly satisfied (82–100% satisfied or very satisfied) with staff performance, meal quality, and delivery processes. Conclusions Conducting a randomized controlled trial to assess outcomes of providing home-delivered meals to older adults after hospital discharge in partnership w...

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in-depth interviews were conducted with 26 low-income men in Alabama who were aged 25-55, were sexually active and did not want more children. Interviews explored men ' s reasons for not wanting more children, their contraceptive knowledge and attitudes, and their involvement in contraceptive decision making. Transcripts were examined using content analysis to identify themes related to men ' s perspectives about preventing pregnancy and using contraceptives. RESULTS :Participants ' motivations to prevent a pregnancy centered primarily on their age and fi nancial circumstances. Most men had limited contraceptive knowledge and perceived their risk of causing a pregnancy to be low, regardless of method use. Few men engaged in decisions about contraceptive use, despite their beliefs that men and women had a shared responsibility to prevent pregnancy. Although some men were interested in vasectomy, a few were hesitant about undergoing the procedure because they might want to have children later if their life circumstances changed, and others worried that vasectomy might aff ect sexual performance. CONCLUSIONS : Some low-income adult men were uncertain about their pregnancy desires, and many lacked contraceptive knowledge that would help them avoid unwanted pregnancy. Research is needed to identify the types of programs that could eff ectively promote men ' s constructive engagement in preventing pregnancies over their reproductive life course.

Few publicly funded family planning clinics in the United States offer vasectomy, but little is known about the reasons this method is not more widely available at these sources of care. Between February 2012 and February 2015, three waves of in-depth interviews were conducted with program administrators at 54 family planning organizations in Texas. Participants described their organization’s vasectomy service model and factors that influenced how frequently vasectomy was provided. Interview transcripts were coded and analyzed using a theme-based approach. Service models and barriers to providing vasectomy were compared by organization type (e.g., women’s health center, public health clinic) and receipt of Title X funding. Two thirds of organizations did not offer vasectomy on-site or pay for referrals with family planning funding; nine organizations frequently provided vasectomy. Organizations did not widely offer vasectomy because they could not find providers that would accept the low reimbursement for the procedure or because they lacked funding for men’s reproductive health care. Respondents often did not perceive men’s reproductive health care as a service priority and commented that men, especially Latinos, had limited interest in vasectomy. Although organizations of all types reported barriers, women’s health centers and Title X-funded organizations more frequently offered vasectomy by conducting tailored outreach to men and vasectomy providers. A combination of factors operating at the health systems and provider level influence the availability of vasectomy at publicly funded family planning organizations in Texas. Multilevel approaches that address key barriers to vasectomy provision would help organizations offer comprehensive contraceptive services.