An RD's Potential Management Role in a Meals on Wheels Program

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     During my foodservice internship, I reviewed this article on Quality Improvement and discussed how Swedish researchers identified problems with food distribution programs such as Meals on Wheels in order to find solutions and improve the health and quality of life in the elderly. The main problem identified was food distribution was a fragmentary social intervention with a desperate need for a comprehensive perspective and development of clear job descriptions for those involved. Assistant nurses with little educational training involved in the Meals on Wheels Program in Sweden reported spending the most amount of time with the elderly. Yet on average they only spent five minutes delivering food to the door and opening up meal boxes before leaving. Furthermore, the main district nurses often reported lacking routine in following up on food intake results when elderly weight loss measurements were significant. When I was reading this article, I couldn’t help but think how a dietitian’s nutritional knowledge and management capabilities could greatly benefit a Meals on Wheels type program! The RD could ensure food safety and sanitation in preparation kitchens, review medical history of elderly recipients and monitor anthropometric measurements, and lastly educate assistant nurses on strategies for improving the elderly intake at meals such as using appropriate herbs/seasonings. The researchers made an interesting point stating Meals on Wheels could greatly be improved by being subject to more regulations if it was viewed as a health care intervention rather than social intervention.

E. Kintner

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