# Experiences and perceptions of meals on wheels volunteers in providing nutritional care to older adults: A qualitative evidence synthesis

## TL;DR

This study explores how Meals on Wheels volunteers view their role in providing meals and nutrition care to older adults, highlighting challenges and the social aspects of their work.

## Contribution

The study provides a qualitative synthesis of volunteers' experiences and perceptions in Meals on Wheels programs, emphasizing the social over the nutritional aspect.

## Key findings

- Volunteers face challenges in coordinating Meals on Wheels services, such as staffing and funding issues.
- Volunteers often see their role as more social than nutritional, despite the program's focus on nutrition care.
- There is a need to better understand how Meals on Wheels volunteers address food insecurity in older adults.

## Abstract

In the community, Meals on Wheels (MoW) programmes are instrumental in the delivery of meals to nutritionally vulnerable older adults. This qualitative evidence synthesis aimed to explore the perceptions and experiences among volunteers of MoW services of their role in supporting nutrition care. Scopus, PubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science, Embase, MEDLINE, and PsycINFO were searched employing qualitative data collection and analysis methods. Results were synthesized using Thomas and Harden’s three step approach for thematic synthesis. Three articles were included and two themes were identified: (1) complexity in coordinating MoW to ensure service delivery, and (2) the MoW volunteers’ perception of their role in providing nutrition care was eclipsed by the social element of their role. While MoW is pivotal to support older adults’ independence, challenges like staffing, funding constraints, and limited community awareness of the service persist. Volunteers’ express positivity but face concerns about time commitment and replacement recruitment. Exploring MoW volunteers’ broader roles in food insecurity is imperative to understand and address the complex dynamics of providing nutrition care and support to older adults.