Food Security in Older Australians from Different Cultural Backgrounds

Objective: To investigate the experiences and barriers to food security of community-dwelling older people. Design: Quantitative questionnaire and 5 focus group discussions using purposive sampling. Setting: Shire of Melton, Victoria, Australia. Participants: Thirty-seven people (13 male and 24 female), between 58 and 85 years of age, from Anglo-Celtic (15), Macedonian (6), Serbian (8), and Maltese (8) backgrounds. Phenomena of Interest: Food security perceptions and barriers. Analyses: Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square. The focus group data (transcripts) were subjected to a systematic thematic analysis to identify major themes and subthemes. Results: Cost and financial considerations, health and physical capacity, transport, intrapersonal factors, and lack of availability of preferred food all emerged as potential barriers to participants accessing nutritious food of their choice. Conclusions and Implications: Overall, the quantitative and qualitative data indicated that the changing circumstances that accompany growing older influenced this group's ability to independently shop for, prepare, and eat affordable and nutritious food. Nutrition educators, in conjunction with local government service providers, have the opportunity to play a key role in building upon existing safety nets and innovative initiatives to ensure older people have access to adequate and appropriate food of their choice.