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While evidence exists concerning the effects of DASH eating on cardiovascular outcomes in community settings, insufficient evidence of its effectiveness has been translated for older adults. Program sustainability has also not been fully explored. DASH-Plus (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension Diet with Exercise and Self-Care Skills) aims to build a sustainable, community-based hypertension management program for hypertensive older adults. To examine the effects of DASH-Plus on blood pressure, and key factors relevant to hypertension management following an 8-week intervention. Using a quasi-experimental design, 14 senior centers were recruited in seven Maryland counties. The intervention includes 1) an eight-week DASH-plus education, 2) weekly produce delivery, and 3) self-measured blood pressure monitoring. A total of 188 participants completed baseline and 8-week surveys. Measures included blood pressure, self-care behaviors, hypertension knowledge, medication adherence, diet quality, etc. Preliminary analysis suggests that average systolic and diastolic blood pressures (p=.003,.002, respectively), fruit and vegetable consumption (p=.001,.001, respectively) were significantly improved at 8 weeks in the intervention group, compared to baseline. At baseline, approximately 56% of intervention participants met the recommended fruit consumption levels. This percentage rose to about 81%, indicating a significant increase in adherence to fruit intake recommendations at 8 weeks. Similar positive trends have been observed in vegetable and fish consumption among intervention participants. Also, the intervention group exhibited significantly heightened hypertension knowledge (p=.001), enhanced medication adherence (p=.013), and increased physical activity (p=.001) at the 8-week mark. Self-care behaviors such as low-salt diet adherence also tended to be improved in the intervention group. On the other hand, the control group showed no significant changes in blood pressure, medication adherence, knowledge, and physical activity. Further, compared to the baseline, the control group showed significantly decreased adherence to a low-salt diet at the 8-week. A series of 8-week DASH-Plus education along with other intervention components may positively impact older adults' blood pressure control and key factors pertinent to hypertension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluate changes in knowledge, diet, and lifestyle behaviors of Maryland adults attending the Dining with Diabetes nutrition education program. Diabetes is a major chronic health issue in the United States. Diabetes education has shown to improve glycemic control through increased knowledge about the disease, promote positive dietary changes, and modify lifestyle behaviors for improved self-efficacy for disease management. Dining with Diabetes is grounded in the Social Cognitive Theory and focuses on self-efficacy for improving health behaviors and disease outcomes. In 2022-2023, Maryland adults, 18 years or older with diabetes, pre-diabetes or at-risk for getting diabetes attended the program. Dining with Diabetes is an evidence-based national Extension curriculum that teaches diet, lifestyle behaviors, and self-efficacy skills for diabetes self-management. The four-weekly, two-hour sessions program that includes cooking demonstrations and recipes, is facilitated by trained Extension educators at the University of Maryland. Validated Pre- and post-surveys were administered at the beginning of session one and the end of session four, respectively. Percent change in knowledge and paired t-test scores for behavior changes were analyzed. Descriptive statistics reported demographics. Of 209 participants, the majority were female (77%), 61 years of age or older (58%), and African American (58%). Percent increases in knowledge from pre- to post-survey were reported for identifying the role of fiber (23.4%), amount of non-starchy vegetables on the diabetes Plate Method (19.3%), diabetes complications (23.5%), diabetic recommendations for physical activity (32.7%), and carbohydrate content in foods (43.5%). Results were statistically significant (P<0.05) for lifestyle behavior changes in 'the last seven days' frequency for 30 or more minutes of exercise, two cups of fruit and two and a half cups of vegetable consumption, measuring foods, reading food labels, and preparing meals using the diabetes Plate Method. These findings further support the results from other diabetes education interventions and have important implications for improving knowledge and healthy behaviors for self-managing diabetes through education. University of Maryland Extension, Family and Consumer Sciences Program [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]