Survey of Home-Delivered Meals Programs

The findings reveal useful information, not previously available, on the characteristics of existing portable-meals programs and indicate the possibility that the type of person receiving the service is in need of additional health services in the home.

Abstract

programs provide a means of delivering meals on a regular basis to people who are unable to leave their homes or whose physical conditions or home en¬ vironment would otherwise preclude the prepa¬ ration of meals which meet their specific normal or therapeutic nutritional needs.Al¬ though still in the developmental stage, this in- dividualized service is designed to help the recipient maintain or restore his health, to hasten recuperation during convalescence, and to enable him to attain the highest possible level of independence without unnecessary institu- tionalization.The Public Health Service's Division of Chronic Diseases fosters the development of meals on wheels services as a part of or in con¬ junction with out-of-hospital programs for the chronically ill and aged.To provide baseline data to professional personnel of home care programs, the division conducted a limited study of programs known to be operating in 1962.The findings reveal useful information, not previously available, on the characteristics of existing portable-meals programs and indi¬ cate the possibility that the type of person re¬ ceiving the service is in need of additional health services in the home.