Access to food and health information among elderly people living in Germany and the United Kingdom
2010
Leyer, B.F., Fulda Univ. of Applied Sciences (Germany). Dept. of Oecotrophologie | Schlecht, I., Fulda Univ. of Applied Sciences (Germany). Dept. of Oecotrophologie | Hampshire, J., Fulda Univ. of Applied Sciences (Germany). Dept. of Oecotrophologie | Hackett, A., Liverpool John Moores Univ. (United Kingdom) | Lybert, P., Liverpool John Moores Univ. (United Kingdom) | Meadows, M., Liverpool John Moores Univ. (United Kingdom) | Richards, J., Liverpool John Moores Univ. (United Kingdom) | Stevenson, L., Liverpool John Moores Univ. (United Kingdom)
CHANCE was a European wide project which investigated Community Health Management in specified local communities in Germany, Latvia, Romania, Sweden, Austria, and the United Kingdom (UK). The paper considers specific questions relating to access to food and health information by communities in both Germany (namely Kohlhaus and Südend in Fulda) and the UK (Liverpool South Central). Empirical data were collected from elderly people living in private households (65 people in the UK and 48 people in Germany) and used to assess the levels of comprehension of nutrition messages (by means of awareness of the ''5-a-day'' campaign), the wider sources of health information used, and the usage of information provided on food labels. The results show that elderly people from the UK were more aware of what the ''5-a-day'' meant compared with their German counterparts. There are three main sources of health information accessed by respondents in the UK. They are as follows: television (52.3%), doctors (50.8%), and newspapers (41.5%), which show that mass media have a role in conveying health information in the UK. In Germany, the most important source of health information is a doctor (89.6%). There is a relationship between the levels of education attainment in Germany and the likelihood of reading food labels. In the UK it was difficult to reach this conclusion as many respondents chose not to provide information on their education status. The research conclusions may be used to inform and enhance community health management in elderly populations in the future.
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