Employing Technology to Promote Healthy Behaviors Among Seniors in Southwest Virginia
The Project
Mountain Empire Older Citizens (MEOC), a regional aging and public transit provider, expanded access to nutrition, exercise, and health care services for older adults in three counties. Through in-person and telehealth platforms, MEOC provided nutrition counseling, exercise programs, cancer education, and telehealth navigation to improve health outcomes. A registered dietitian and telehealth navigator supported these efforts, helping older individuals receive personalized health guidance and access to care.
Work Conducted:
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Expanded telehealth access by training MEOC staff to serve as telehealth navigators, establishing a permanent telehealth kiosk, and deploying two mobile platforms to bring health care services to underserved areas.
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Enhanced health education by offering cancer prevention workshops, chronic disease education, and telehealth support for follow-up care.
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Improved nutrition services by hiring a registered dietitian to provide group education and individual counseling, targeting those at high nutritional risk.
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Promoted fall prevention and wellness by delivering Bingocize sessions that combined exercise and health education to improve balance and mobility.
Goals Achieved:
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Increased telehealth utilization by providing health care access through telehealth for older adults and tracking patient engagement and outcomes.
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Expanded health outreach by reaching individuals with cancer prevention and screening resources.
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Improved nutrition and wellness by delivering nutritional counseling, group education, and monthly health newsletters.
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Strengthened community support by engaging participants through exercise and health education programs to promote independence and well-being.
Evidence from Across Appalachia
Embedding Lifestyle Interventions into Cancer Care via Telehealth
Advancing Telehealth In Rural Appalachia
Evaluation Summary Report
MEOC’s project achieved sustained medical and health services delivery at scale, with improved access to medical care, preventive programs, and nutrition access for rural older adults. Telehealth counseling largely exceeded targets, supporting 70 patients through nutrition counseling and improved access to services that would otherwise be limited by transportation or geography. One participant received tele-behavioral health care with a clinical partner. Preventive education process metrics included a cumulative 140 participants reached through the Understanding Cancer curriculum, 224 participants attending medical education sessions, and 40 Bingocize sessions delivered to 63 older adults with reported improvements in confidence, balance, and functional mobility. Nutrition newsletters reached 578 recipients, with nearly all surveyed recipients reporting that the content was beneficial. Despite strong reach and high acceptability, outcomes remained mixed: nutritional and mental health educational programs produced limited knowledge gains, and potential health impacts were constrained by either not reaching the populations most in need, such as cancer screening education participants with lower baseline knowledge, or by limitations in pre-established evaluation instruments, including unclear or missing assessments of actual changes in nutritional behaviors or health outcomes. Services supported by this project were likely to be sustainable. The telehealth equipment and support infrastructure were in place, and program personnel who were trained in that equipment were salaried members of staff. Only the sustainability of nutrition counseling services was in question, and MEOC was seeking new funding to support these services in the future.