Keywords

aged, malnutrition, nutritional status, oral health, Roy Adaptation Model

 

Authors

  1. Chen, Cheryl Chia-Hui DNSc, GNP
  2. Chang, Chin-Kuo PhD
  3. Chyun, Deborah A. PhD, RN, FAHA
  4. McCorkle, Ruth PhD, FAAN

Abstract

Nutritional health of community-dwelling elders has been shown to be one of the prime indices of health, influencing the elders' ability to live independently. However, little research has been directed toward understanding the dynamics of nutritional health in community-dwelling elders using a multidimensional theory approach. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the dynamics of nutritional health within the context of Roy Adaptation Model. Factors associated with nutritional health of community-dwelling elders were cross-examined. Depressive symptoms, functional status, oral health, and income emerged as independent predictors of nutritional health adjusting for confounders. This finding lends support to the notion that multidimensional biopsychosocial factors contribute to the dynamics of nutritional health.