Learning from “Knocks in Life”: Food Insecurity among Low-Income Lone Senior Women
Building on earlier quantitative work where we showed that lone senior households reliant on public pensions in Nova Scotia (NS), Canada lacked the necessary funds for a basic nutritious diet, here we present findings from a qualitative study involving in-depth interviews with eight low-income lone...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2012-01-01
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| Series: | Journal of Aging Research |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/450630 |
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| _version_ | 1832562246729859072 |
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| author | Rebecca J. Green-LaPierre Patricia L. Williams N. Theresa Glanville Deborah Norris Heather C. Hunter Cynthia G. Watt |
| author_facet | Rebecca J. Green-LaPierre Patricia L. Williams N. Theresa Glanville Deborah Norris Heather C. Hunter Cynthia G. Watt |
| author_sort | Rebecca J. Green-LaPierre |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Building on earlier quantitative work where we showed that lone senior households reliant on public pensions in Nova Scotia (NS), Canada lacked the necessary funds for a basic nutritious diet, here we present findings from a qualitative study involving in-depth interviews with eight low-income lone senior women living in an urban area of NS. Using a phenomenological inquiry approach, in-depth interviews were used to explore lone senior women’s experiences accessing food with limited financial resources. Drawing upon Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory, we explored their perceived ability to access a nutritionally adequate and personally acceptable diet, and the barriers and enablers to do so; as well in light of our previous quantitative research, we explored their perceptions related to adequacy of income, essential expenses, and their strategies to manage personal finances. Seven key themes emerged: world view, income adequacy, transportation, health/health problems, community program use, availability of family and friends, and personal food management strategies. World view exerted the largest influence on seniors’ personal perception of food security status. The implications of the findings and policy recommendations to reduce the nutritional health inequities among this vulnerable subset of the senior population are considered. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-21b5a80db6e3400d824d50601815b6ae |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2090-2204 2090-2212 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2012-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Aging Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-21b5a80db6e3400d824d50601815b6ae2025-02-03T01:23:05ZengWileyJournal of Aging Research2090-22042090-22122012-01-01201210.1155/2012/450630450630Learning from “Knocks in Life”: Food Insecurity among Low-Income Lone Senior WomenRebecca J. Green-LaPierre0Patricia L. Williams1N. Theresa Glanville2Deborah Norris3Heather C. Hunter4Cynthia G. Watt5Department of Applied Human Nutrition, Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, NS, B3M 2J6, CanadaDepartment of Applied Human Nutrition, Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, NS, B3M 2J6, CanadaDepartment of Applied Human Nutrition, Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, NS, B3M 2J6, CanadaDepartment of Family Studies and Gerontology, Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, NS, B3M 2J6, CanadaParticipatory Food Costing Project, Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, NS, B3M 2J6, CanadaParticipatory Food Costing Project, Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, NS, B3M 2J6, CanadaBuilding on earlier quantitative work where we showed that lone senior households reliant on public pensions in Nova Scotia (NS), Canada lacked the necessary funds for a basic nutritious diet, here we present findings from a qualitative study involving in-depth interviews with eight low-income lone senior women living in an urban area of NS. Using a phenomenological inquiry approach, in-depth interviews were used to explore lone senior women’s experiences accessing food with limited financial resources. Drawing upon Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory, we explored their perceived ability to access a nutritionally adequate and personally acceptable diet, and the barriers and enablers to do so; as well in light of our previous quantitative research, we explored their perceptions related to adequacy of income, essential expenses, and their strategies to manage personal finances. Seven key themes emerged: world view, income adequacy, transportation, health/health problems, community program use, availability of family and friends, and personal food management strategies. World view exerted the largest influence on seniors’ personal perception of food security status. The implications of the findings and policy recommendations to reduce the nutritional health inequities among this vulnerable subset of the senior population are considered.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/450630 |
| spellingShingle | Rebecca J. Green-LaPierre Patricia L. Williams N. Theresa Glanville Deborah Norris Heather C. Hunter Cynthia G. Watt Learning from “Knocks in Life”: Food Insecurity among Low-Income Lone Senior Women Journal of Aging Research |
| title | Learning from “Knocks in Life”: Food Insecurity among Low-Income Lone Senior Women |
| title_full | Learning from “Knocks in Life”: Food Insecurity among Low-Income Lone Senior Women |
| title_fullStr | Learning from “Knocks in Life”: Food Insecurity among Low-Income Lone Senior Women |
| title_full_unstemmed | Learning from “Knocks in Life”: Food Insecurity among Low-Income Lone Senior Women |
| title_short | Learning from “Knocks in Life”: Food Insecurity among Low-Income Lone Senior Women |
| title_sort | learning from knocks in life food insecurity among low income lone senior women |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/450630 |
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