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Running head: HEALTH POLICY ANALYSIS

Health Policy Analysis
Institutional Affiliation
Date

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………...………….3
PROBLEMSTATEMENT………………………………………………………..………….4
BACKGROUND……………………………………………………………………………....8
LANDSCAPE…………………………………………………………………………………14
OPTIONS……………………………………………………………………………………...17
RECOMMENDATION……………………………………………………………………....20
CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………………………..21
REFERENCES………………………………………………………………………………..22
APPENDICES………………………………………………………………………………….26

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Promoting Healthy Nutrition among the In a Elderly Living Service Home
Introduction
There is a dramatic increase in the elderly population worldwide, which calls for better
and improved nutritional and general health for the aged individuals. This increased demand for
quality nutritional services among this population has resulted in some significant challenges in
public health and service provision. The nutrition level offered to the elderly is a significant
factor that determines the general life of the elderly population, since nutrition affects an
individual’s health throughout all life stages, from childhood, adulthood and old age as well. To
maintain a healthy body state among the aged and decrease physical body and mental challenges,
there is need to provide this population with a healthy diet as well as cultivate healthy eating
habits among these individuals. Healthy nutrition accompanies other important programs such as
physical exercise, to overcome some health problems associated with old age (Brownlow & Vos,
2008). It has therefore been quite challenging to provide healthy nutrition for the elderly people,
especially those residing in a service home, where there might be scarcity and limit of resources.
This report, therefore, provides a definition and lengthy discussion of the issue of healthy
nutrition among the elderly living in a service home. The report also provides some policy
recommendations on how this healthcare problem and concern can be resolved. The analysis
report is based on previous research on similar or related problems and therefore provides a
detailed review of the literature by scholars and policymakers on healthy nutrition among the
elderly. The report will also seek to address various questions about nutritional genomics, such
as the impact of food on individual genes, which is important in providing healthy nutrition
among the elderly residing in a service home (Brownlow & Vos, 2008). The policy analysis

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report will comprise of a problem statement, background report, a landscape, options,
recommendations and a concluding part. Appropriate references will also be provided on a
bibliography page.
Problem Statement
Healthcare policies are made to address specific health problems in a manner that fully
addresses the needs of all the concerned stakeholders. Healthcare policies are also subject to
available empirical data following a research. There is therefore a concern on whether the
policies in relation to healthy nutrition among the elderly living in service homes are
proportional to the increasing demand of the healthcare and nutritional services among this
population. According to the health and human services department, the population of the
elderly, who are individuals aged above 65 years, are about 39.6 million (Boateng & Jeptanui,
2016). They also form around 12.9 percent of the United States population, which is a proportion
of one out of eight Americans. Research also indicates that the population of the elderly is likely
to increase to 72.i million by 2030. This translates to the increasing demand in the services of the
older age population with healthy nutrition provision among those critical services to be highly
demanded. There is therefore a perceived need that the healthcare policies being made to cater
for the nutritional needs of the elderly should be considerate to this increasing demand, in order
to fit the needs of all stakeholders.
The various health problems experienced by the elderly living in the service homes
suggest the current policies are somehow ineffective and need to be reviewed. According to a
study conducted by the American healthcare organization, a percentage as high as 30, of the aged
population are frail, weak and at a higher risk of contradicting diseases related to older age which

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are mostly contributed to by poor malnutrition, poor diet and unhealthy living, meaning that the
policies which address this issue are not consistently effective. An example of such a disease
which has been identified as very prevalent among elderly people residing in service homes is
sarcopenia or muscle wasting, which is a severe disability and loss of independence (De Groot,
Van Staveren & De Graaf, 2000). Decline in cognition is also a common condition in elderly
service homes which is likely to take advantage of the frail condition, and thus a healthy
nutrition and proper physical body care is a critical factor for a successful and healthy aging.
Nutrition is among the most critical factor determining the development of diseases that are
related to old age, including diabetes, osteoporosis, cancer and vascular diseases and conditions.
Increased nutritional problems among the elderly have seen these diseases increase to
include cognitive decline, frailty, Alzheimer’s diseases and sarcopenia. Among the current
elderly population, 60% can be referred as healthy, 30% are frail, while the other 10 % can be
described as dependent (Pearson et al., 1998). The needs of these groups however vary with the
environment and other factors within. There is increased vulnerability of diseases among the
elderly, due to physical body complications such as obesity, and overweight resulting from
unhealthy nutrition. There is increased risk of developing diabetes disease due to these physical
conditions. The elderly population of frail individuals is likely to be at a higher risk of being frail
and becoming independent. The main nutritional risk of the 10% of the elderly individuals
residing in service home is malnutrition of potential energy (Pearson et al., 1998). There are
main nutritional threats to nutritional problems among the elderly, including sarcopenia, frailty,
and cognitive decline, which are all related to malnutrition in the older age. Chronic malnutrition
among the aged leads to loss of muscles; a condition referred to as sarcopenia, which has some
consequences in turn, including a lower rate of metabolic resting due to reduced lean body mass

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and slower mobility due to muscle mass and quality loss. The elderly living in service homes are
increasingly being diagnosed with PEM (protein-energy malnutrition), a condition that is more
common among older people who are dependent. Data collected using the mini nutrition tool for
assessing PEM has revealed a high level of the condition among the older aged residents in most
service homes. Nutrition is a key factor in the development of most diseases and body conditions
related to age with potentially destructive consequences on the aged individuals, as well as
significantly impact on the their general health.
Malnutrition among the elderly living in service homes has had some significant
consequences in public health. There is a higher risk for malnutrition-related diseases among the
aged compared to the general population. At least one out of every four patients is malnutrition
when they are admitted to a hospital, with severe weight loss. Close to 98% of the patients
admitted all time are residing either at community care settings or at home service centers, thus
highlighting the necessity to enact a better policy approach towards a healthy nutrition among the
elderly living in these care settings (Logan & Spitze, 2014). The increased cases of malnutrition,
nutritional problems, as well as malnutrition-related diseases among elderly individuals living in
service homes can be attributed to lack of or poor healthcare policies which govern the
enhancement of healthy nutrition among these individuals.
Although the majority of the older adults reside independently in the community of their
choice, including service homes, they may find themselves at a higher nutritional risk if at some
point dietary services are interrupted. This disruption might include factors of socio-economic
status, living situation, and the access to support services related to food and nutrition, which
once disrupted m...