Dietary guidelines for the elderly in Primary Health Care: development and validation of a protocol based on the Food Guide for the Brazilian Population

Abstract

Objective Develop and validate a protocol for the use of the Food Guide for the Brazilian Population (FGBP) in the dietary guidelines for elderly people during individual clinic appointments in Primary Health Care (PHC). Methods The elaboration followed six methodological steps, namely: (1) protocol format definition; (2) definition of the instrument for assessing food consumption; (3) extracting applicable Food Guide recommendations for individual dietary guidelines; (4) evidence systematization on dietary and nutrition needs of the elderly; (5) development of nutritional guidelines messages for the elderly; (6) content and apparent validation and data analysis. Results As products of the steps, the protocol structure was defined and dietary guidelines were elaborated based on the nutritional and health needs of the elderly population, considering the functional capacity and physiological and social changes of this life cycle. The protocol was well assessed by experts and health professionals as to clarity, relevance (content validity index > 0.8) and applicability. In addition, the participants made some suggestions to improve the clarity of the messages and to expand the applicability of the instrument with elderly Brazilians. Conclusion The protocol can contribute to the qualification of dietary guidelines in PHC, dissemination of information from the Food Guide and promotion of comprehensive care and healthy aging of the population.

Development and Validation of Protocol Based on Brazilian Dietary Guidelines for Adults with Diabetes Mellitus Who Attended Primary Health Care

“…This is the first study to develop and validate a dietary protocol based on the DGBP for non-nutrition professionals working in PHC, presenting nutritional guidelines for adults with DM. Recent studies conducted by Jesus et al [17] and Louzada et al [7] developed dietary protocols also based on the DGBP for PHC professionals with a similar methodological design; however, they focused on dietary guidelines for the elderly and adults without comorbidities, respectively.…”