Nutritional Wellbeing

About

The Guidelines are the first nationally consistent approach to nutrition, menu planning and meal presentation for home delivered meals and center-based meals for older Australians

This partnership began with local Meals on Wheel (MOW) organisations and resulted in the research team being awarded a 2016 tender to develop National Meal Guidelines for the Commonwealth Home Support Programme. The partnership was supported through three UOW Community Engagement grants and the team, together with MOW managers, conducted both qualitative and quantitative research to better understand the needs, experiences and dietary intakes of their customers.

They were launched at Parliament House by the Hon. Minister for Aged Care and Indigenous Health, Ken Wyatt on February 15th 2017.

This has led to new initiatives being piloted such as in-home screening for malnutrition status, provision of snack packs and breakfast packs, meal fortification and mini-meal alternatives. The team have also been invited key speakers at national and regional MOW conferences and have regularly presented at the national Dietitians Association of Australia annual conference. Key outcomes were also presented at the International Congress of Nutrition and Dietetics in Sydney in 2012.

Other organisations that work with MOW have been included in Nutrition and Dietetics Honours and Masters student projects, including Flagstaff Fine Foods and IRT. These opportunities enable students to understand the value of community-based services for older adults and the importance of research and innovation.

This work continued with a 2014 Home and Community Care (HACC) grant being awarded to Kiama MOW. Our team provided training on the validated Mini Nutritional Assessment – Short Form tool (a validated six item tool for community living older adults) and a model of care, as well as assistance with evaluation, including the analysis of the outcomes over the last 3 years.

Outcomes were presented at the International Congress of Nutrition and Dietetics in Spain in 2016.

Awards & recognition

Vice Chancellor’s Team Award for Excellence in Community Engagement

The Meals on Wheels Team was awarded the UOW Vice Chancellor’s Team Award for Excellence in Community Engagement in 2014.

Image source: UOW Archives Online: The 2014 Vice-Chancellor's Awards Ceremony

National Meal Guidelines

Meals on Wheels Research Partners

Research partners

Australian Meals on Wheels Association (AMOWA)

Northern Illawarra Meals on Wheels (MoW)

Kiama Meals MOW

Wollongong MOW

Camden MOW

UOW researchers involved in the partnership

Associate Professor Karen Walton

Associate Professor Karen Charlton

Dr Anne McMahon

Other contributors

Dr Siobhan McHugh

Professor Victoria Traynor

Professor Peter Williams

Professor Linda Tapsell