THIS RESEARCH WILL MODIFY A MICROCOMPUTERIZED NUTRIENT ANALYSIS SOFTWARE PROGRAM AND DATABASE FOR USE WITH SENIOR CITIZENS.

THIS RESEARCH WILL MODIFY A MICROCOMPUTERIZED NUTRIENT ANALYSIS SOFTWARE PROGRAM AND DATABASE FOR USE WITH SENIOR CITIZENS. THE COMPUTER PROGRAM TO BE USED, THE DINE SYSTEM,WILL BE MODIFIED TO ACCOMODATE THE SPECIFIC NUTRITIONAL CONCERNS OF PERSONS OVER AGE 65. IT WILL BE USER-FRIENDLY AND UNDERSTANDABLE, AND THE HARDWARE WILL BE FORMATTED FOR EASE OF USE. THE PROGRAM WILL FOCUS ON THE IMPROVEMENT OF FOOD CHOICES AS A RESULT OF NUTRIENT ANALYSIS. AN EXPERT PANEL CONSISTING OF GERIATRICIANS, COMPUTER SCIENTISTS, NUTRITION EDUCATORS, AND SENIORS WILL REVIEW THE PROGRAM'S ADEQUACY. THE SOFTWARE WILL BE INTEGRATED INTO A NUTRITION INTERVENTION PROJECT FOR FIELD TESTING IN A SUBSIDIZED HOUSING DEVELOPMENT FOR SENIORS. ELIGIBLE SUBJECTS WILL BE ASSIGNED BY RESIDENT LOCATION INTO TWO GROUPS. THE COMPUTERIZED NUTRITION GROUP WILL PARTICIPATE IN AN EXPERIENTIAL, NUTRITION EDUCATION PROGRAM FEATURING THE DEVELOPED SOFTWARE. THE TRADITIONAL NUTRITION GROUP WILL RECEIVE A SIMILAR PROGRAM, EXCEPT THAT THE COMPUTER EXPERIENCE WILL BE REPLACED BY HANDOUTS AND VERBAL EXPLANATIONS. STUDY GROUPS WILL BE PRETESTED, POSTTESTED, AND FOLLOWUP TESTED WITH NUTRIENT ANALYSES, SATISFACTION/ INTEREST, AND NUTRITIONAL BEHAVIOR INVENTORIES. T-TESTS ANDCHI-SQUARES WILL BE USED TO DETERMINE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GROUPS.