(New) Improving Diet Quality of Community-Dwelling Seniors using a Community-Based Participatory Approach

Age Well SG strand: Encourage active ageing

Principal Investigator: Dr Zoe Lim (Research Fellow, GERI)

Collaborating Organisation(s): Thye Hua Kwan Moral Charities, NTUC Health, Ministry of Health, Singapore, Agency for Integrated Care, Health Promotion Board

Gap: Studies in Singapore have reported undernutrition in about one third of community-dwelling older adults aged 60 and above, with obesity reported in almost 1 in 10 older adults. Diet quality is a common driver in addressing both forms of malnutrition, as it moves away from the focus on single nutrients (e.g. reducing salt). However, local nutrition surveys, food programmes and public health messaging rarely address diet quality.

Planned Solution: The study aims to develop a community-based intervention to improve diet quality, with a long-term goal of decreasing risk of cognitive decline and other diet-related non-communicable diseases. The findings will then be used to design a Type 2 hybrid implementation-effectiveness trial.

Anticipated Impact: At an individual level, the intervention hopes to contribute towards improved access to nutritious food, which can improve older persons’ diet quality in the short term and health status in the long-term. Community-level impact will be driven by the use of community engagement as a methodological approach, to bring positive outcomes related to social support, social capital and empowerment of community members. At a societal level, the project seeks to reduce health inequity by focusing on isolated seniors whose needs are not adequately met by existing services and programmes.

Duration: Jan 2025 to Mar 2026