Nutritional Status Among Elderly Prison Inmates
Keywords:
nutritional status, nutrition screening, older prisonersAbstract
This descriptive study aims to examine and compare the nutritional status of older prison inmates according to age, gender, comorbidities, and duration of imprisonment. The sample consisted of 100 elderly inmates aged 60 years and older in central, provincial, and district level one prisons. The research instruments consisted of a demographic data questionnaire and the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA). Data were collected from January to February 2020 and analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square statistics.
The study revealed that elderly inmates were between the ages of 60-76 years with an average age of 64.84 years (SD = 4.23); of these, 61% were male, 40% had at least one comorbidity, and 33% suffered from hypertension. The average body mass index was 21.06 kg/m2 and 10% had a low BMI (<19 kg/m2). The nutritional status of elderly inmates showed that 35% were at risk of malnutrition while 2% were experiencing malnutrition. The nutritional status of elderly inmates differed significantly based on age, gender, underlying diseases, and duration of imprisonment at the .05 level of significance.
This study provides recommendations for healthcare providers to screen and assess the nutritional status of elderly inmates in order to create individualized nutritional care plans and prevent malnutrition and complications related to nutritional problems.
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