Alan L. Balsam's research while affiliated with Massachusetts Department of Public Health and other places
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Publications (13)
The aging of the U.S. population has brought national attention to programs and services that enhance the health and quality of life of older Americans. Established in 1972, the Elderly Nutrition Program (ENP) provides congregate and home delivered meals to people 60 years and older, particularly low-income elders. This paper summarizes the results...
The nutritional status of persons with HIV and AIDS [PWAs] is constantly challenged throughout the progression of the illness. Home-delivered meals programs for PWAs are rapidly developing across the country to address this problem among the growing population of people with HIV infection and AIDS. This study examined client socio-demographic chara...
Prevention is a major concern in work with the elderly, especially in outpatient or community settings, where the goal is often to prevent admission to hospitals or placement in long‐term care institutions. Whereas hospitals provide essential care to older adults with acute care problems, many of the more commonly experienced problems—chronic disea...
In an effort to improve access the fresh produce for seniors and provide additional marketing opportunities for small farmers, the Massachusetts Department of Food and Agriculture has distributed coupons to seniors that can be redeemed only at farmers' markers.
The Massachusetts Farmers' Market Coupon Program provides coupons to low-income elders redeemable for fresh produce at farmers' markets. The program was conceived to create new direct marketing opportunities for small farmers, while at the same time introducing people at nutritional risk to farmers' markets. This article reports on the results of a...
Massachusetts has the largest population of immigrant Portuguese in the United States, yet few elder service programs specifically designed to meet their needs exist. Therefore, a special nutrition program was developed in Somerville, Massachusetts to provide culturally appropriate lunches twice a week, followed by socialization activities. A surve...
The federally funded Elderly Nutrition Program (ENP) began in 1972, authorized under Title 7 of the Older Americans Act. Its purpose was to serve elders, targeting those in greatest social and economic need. This article describes the characteristics of the Nutrition Project Directors in the ENP through data gathered by a questionnaire completed by...
The federally funded Elderly Nutrition Program is mandated to serve elders in greatest social and economic need. Yet researchers have concluded that the program underserves certain groups of elders, including those who are socially impaired and homeless and members of ethnic and other minority groups. This paper reviews the issues involved in servi...
The federally funded Elderly Nutrition Program (ENP) began in 1972 under Title 7 of the Older Americans A ct, and has grown considerably since then. This article reports the results of a 1988 national study that collected information on cost per meal in relationship to a number of other variables in a random sample of ENPs nationally. Based on this...
The foodservice delivery aspects of the federally-funded Elderly Nutrition Program (ENP) were examined via an original survey instrument sent to a random sample of nutrition projects nationally. In comparison to a similar survey conducted a decade ago, projects were more apt to rely on a combination of foodservice mechanisms including caterer contr...
Citations
... Therefore, the importance of sites to meet the needs of the most vulnerable older adults cannot be overstated. Balsam, Sullivan, Millen, and Rogers (2000) recommend hunger and nutritional deficiencies can be combated by better understanding the cultures of the most vulnerable, which includes the provision of ethnic meals and adherence to religious dietary guidelines. Makadon, Mayer, Potter, and Goldhammer (2008) cite numerous opportunities for agencies to create safe services for LGBT populations. ...
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... This demographic imperative makes it increasingly urgent that healthcare professionals in all disciplines understand the interrelationship between health, oral health and aging. While seeing older people in an outpatient setting, dental providers have important opportunities for assessment, particularly when oral health complaints may signal the presence of underlying social and health concerns (Avlund, Holm-Pedersen & Schroll, 2001;Levkoff, Berkman, Balsam & Minaker, 1996). Oral health is a central component of Dental students at the University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine (UBSDM) Clinic began reporting increased numbers of older patients who discussed complex health and psychosocial issues during clinic visits. ...
Reference: More than a Set of Teeth
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... Some 62.8% indicated that coupons for farmers' market changed their eating habits as they could now afford fresh produce and 54.6% highlighted that buying fruits and vegetables even after exhausting their coupons. For Balsam et al. (1994), a survey of 400 participants with 124 respondents indicated that 68% had never shopped at farmers' markets before. Quality of fruits and vegetables at farmers' markets was perceived to be much better (27%), better (29%), or the same (38%) as grocery stores. ...
... Other studies have assessed produce purchasing -and even produce consumption (at least through self report). For instance, studies evaluating financial incentive programs (e.g., coupons or vouchers), demonstrate at least modestly greater intent to purchase or consume -or reportedly increased purchasing or consumption -of fruits and vegetables among FM incentive recipients (Baronberg, Dunn, Nonas, Dannefer, & Sacks, 2013;Freedman et al., 2011;Freedman, Choi, Hurley, Anadu, & Hebert, 2013;Jones & Bhatia, 2011;Kropf, Holben, Holcomb, & Anderson, 2007;Lindsay et al., 2013;McCormack, Laska, Larson, & Story, 2010;Racine et al., 2010;Webber, Balsam, & Oehlke, 1995;Weinstein, Galindo, Fried, Rucker, & Davis, 2014;Wheeler & Chapman-Novakofski, 2014;Young et al., 2013). Other studies suggest that living near a FM is associated with greater produce intake (Gustafson et al., 2013;Park et al., 2011;Ruelas et al., 2012) and that introducing FMs to communities may minimally increase reported consumption of select fruits and vegetables (Evans et al., 2012). ...
... Previous studies of Meals on Wheels programs have pointed to their inability to reach out to minority populations. That both ethnic and linguistic minorities seem to be underserved by the ENP has been noted by others (Balsam and Rogers 1991). Some evidence of programs that have successfully targeted ethnic and linguistic minorities exists in the literature, but there is a clear need for improved outreach. ...
