title: Development and evaluation of a dietary self-management programme for older adults with low literacy and heart disease: pilot study of feasibility and acceptability.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To develop a dietary self-management programme for salt-, fluid-, fat- and cholesterol-intake behaviours for older adults with low literacy and heart disease and evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the programme.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Eating behaviours such as fluid, salt, fat and cholesterol intake are an important factor related to heart disease outcomes. People with low literacy have difficulty following recommended health behaviours, but limited research has investigated intervention programmes for this population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Programme development and pilot testing its feasibility and acceptability. Recommendations were also collected from participants and the research assistant for future large-scale interventions.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study had two phases. Phase I consisted of programme development based on previous qualitative findings, a systematic review of the literature, clinical practice experience and expert opinion. In Phase II, we pilot tested the programme from January - June 2014 in a convenience sample of 10 older adults with low literacy, heart disease and recruited from a medical centre in northern Taiwan.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Pilot testing showed that our programme was feasible and acceptable to older adults with low literacy and heart disease. Moreover, the final version of the programme was revised based on participants' and the research assistant's recommendations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study results suggest that with guidance and assistance, older adults with low literacy and heart disease can be motivated to take action for their health and are empowered by learning how to self-manage their heart-healthy eating behaviours.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Jung-Hua
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Shao
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology, Taiwan.|Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Su-Hui
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4079-2340
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000072001:Diet, Healthy; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D057220:Health Literacy; D006331:Heart Diseases; D006801:Humans; D000067010:Literacy; D008297:Male; D010865:Pilot Projects; D000073278:Self-Management; D013624:Taiwan
keywords: dietary self-management; heart disease; low literacy; nursing; older adult; self-efficacy