Fiber consumption among constipated older adults: a theory-based interventional study

Aim:

 The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of an intervention on fiber consumption,  among elderly using the Trans-theoretical Model (TTM) model.

A quasi-experimental study was developed among constipated elderly people aged ≥60 in Karaj, Iran between 2019 and 2021. Constipated participants were randomly assigned to the intervention (n=66) or the control (n=64) groups. Before and after four educational sessions, demographic information, participant’s stages of change for diet, self-efficacy, decisional balance, and daily amount of fiber consumption were evaluated. An analysis was performed to assess any differences in the stages of change (posttest vs. baseline).

 The Mean±SD of age of patients was 66.68±3.53. The perceived barriers, and self-efficacy were statistically significant after intervention (P-value<0.001), in the intervention group compared to the control group (P-value>0.001). In both groups, perceived benefits changed statistically significant (P-value<0.001). Pearson correlation also showed significant correlation between stages of change and benefits, barriers, self-efficacy and fiber consumption. The analysis of variance adjusting for covariate also indicated that there were significant differences between intervention and control groups.

 This study demonstrated that the TTM is a useful model that can be applied to dietary behavior change, more specifically fruit and vegetable consumption among elderly populations. The results show that tailored interventions based on the TTM may successfully improve healthy life style as it determines which intervention is most appropriate to apply according to individuals’ stage of change. An appropriate intervention based on each stage can enable patients to improve their healthy behaviors gradually.