Path analysis of current status and influencing factors of nutritional literacy among community-dwelling older adults

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the current status of nutritional literacy among community-dwelling elderly individuals in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, as well as the associated influencing factors and pathways. The Nutritional Literacy Assessment Scale for community-dwelling older adults and a questionnaire on factors influencing nutritional literacy were utilized. Descriptive statistics, stratified linear regression, and path analysis were employed to determine the influencing factors and pathways of nutritional literacy. The nutritional literacy rate among community-dwelling older adults in Hangzhou was moderate, with functional nutritional literacy being the highest and critical nutritional literacy being the lowest. Factors such as gender, education level, self-efficacy, healthy lifestyles, family and social networks, living environment, and policies were found to influence nutritional literacy. There is scope for improvement in the nutritional literacy level among older adults in the community in Hangzhou, particularly in terms of critical and interactive nutritional literacy.