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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an educational intervention on improving home food safety practices in congregate meal recipients in senior centers in northeast Georgia. A random sample of participants was selected from north Georgia senior centers (N = 136; mean age: 79 years; 74% female; 61% Caucasian; 39% African American). The study design was a pre-test, intervention, and post-test design. At the pre-test, variability in adherence to 16 home food safety practices was large and ranged from 17% for checking temperatures of the refrigerator and cooked meats to 76% for other behaviors. Following the intervention, participants were more likely to wash their hands with warm water and soap for 20 seconds before eating (76% vs. 90%, P 0.01) and before preparing food (76% vs. 92%, P 0.01). In a series of regression analyses, younger age was the most consistent predictor of adherence to home food safety practices at the pre-test, and older age was the most consistent predictor of improvements in adherence after the intervention. As a first step, this intervention improved several aspects of home food safety practices; however, additional interventions that target the individual are needed to increase home food safety practices in older adults.