{"id":{"repo_id":"iastate","oai_identifier":"oai:dr.lib.iastate.edu:20.500.12876/106737"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/iastate/oai:dr.lib.iastate.edu:20.500.12876/106737","repository":{"repo_id":"iastate","name":"Iowa State University","base_url":"https://dr.lib.iastate.edu/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Supporting collaborative efforts between Senior Nutrition Program providers and Cooperative Extension employees to better serve older adults","abstract":"As the number of older adults continues to increase, so does the demand for programs that support aging in place. Many community-based organizations provide nutrition, health, and food-related services to older adults, yet these efforts often operate independently rather than collaboratively. Strengthening cross-program partnerships is critical for enhancing the delivery and impact of services. This study explores partnership characteristics between Senior Nutrition Programs (SNP) and Cooperative Extension (Extension) to identify opportunities and strategies for expanding collaborative efforts. A convenience sample of 39 SNP providers and 83 Extension employees completed online surveys. SNP respondents answered a 36‑item questionnaire, asking about demographics, job characteristics, familiarity and engagement with Extension, facilitators and barriers to collaborations, and service delivery practices. Extension employees completed a 55‑item survey inquiring about demographics, programming, partnership experiences, perceived awareness of SNPs, facilitators and barriers to collaborations, and interest in future partnerships. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U tests, and chi-square tests. Most SNP providers (79.5%) reported partnering with Extension, while only some Extension employees (45.7%) reported having partnerships with SNPs. Positive SNP–Extension partnership attributes included collaboration and balance, while common partnership barriers included time and capacity constraints. Partnership status differed by work duration. Newer SNP providers partnered with Extension more often (p = .040), while Extension employees with a longer tenure reported more partnerships with SNPs (p = .037). Additionally, a significant relationship between service location and interest in the SNP among Extension respondents (p = .045) was detected. Overall, the findings of this study suggest that SNP–Extension collaborations have room to grow and can be strengthened through deliberate efforts to build trust, enhance communication, and provide training.","abstract_html":"As the number of older adults continues to increase, so does the demand for programs that support aging in place. Many community-based organizations provide nutrition, health, and food-related services to older adults, yet these efforts often operate independently rather than collaboratively. Strengthening cross-program partnerships is critical for enhancing the delivery and impact of services. This study explores partnership characteristics between Senior Nutrition Programs (SNP) and Cooperative Extension (Extension) to identify opportunities and strategies for expanding collaborative efforts. A convenience sample of 39 SNP providers and 83 Extension employees completed online surveys. SNP respondents answered a 36‑item questionnaire, asking about demographics, job characteristics, familiarity and engagement with Extension, facilitators and barriers to collaborations, and service delivery practices. Extension employees completed a 55‑item survey inquiring about demographics, programming, partnership experiences, perceived awareness of SNPs, facilitators and barriers to collaborations, and interest in future partnerships. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U tests, and chi-square tests. Most SNP providers (79.5%) reported partnering with Extension, while only some Extension employees (45.7%) reported having partnerships with SNPs. Positive SNP–Extension partnership attributes included collaboration and balance, while common partnership barriers included time and capacity constraints. Partnership status differed by work duration. Newer SNP providers partnered with Extension more often (p = .040), while Extension employees with a longer tenure reported more partnerships with SNPs (p = .037). Additionally, a significant relationship between service location and interest in the SNP among Extension respondents (p = .045) was detected. Overall, the findings of this study suggest that SNP–Extension collaborations have room to grow and can be strengthened through deliberate efforts to build trust, enhance communication, and provide training.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Wood, Eva, Claire"],"institution":"Iowa State University - Thesis & Dissertation","degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":"thesis","degree_discipline":"Nutrition","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Francis, Sarah, L"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2026,"date_issued":"2026-05","date_published":"2026-05","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:38:46Z","subjects":["Food science and human nutrition"],"languages":["en_US"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://dr.lib.iastate.edu/handle/20.500.12876/106737","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Francis, Sarah, L"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Wood, Eva, Claire"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2026-06-09T22:29:08Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2026-06-09T22:29:08Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2026-05"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Text"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Nutrition","Gerontology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Iowa State University - Thesis & Dissertation"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Food science and human nutrition"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en_US"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://dr.lib.iastate.edu/handle/20.500.12876/106737"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["May2026"]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["As the number of older adults continues to increase, so does the demand for programs that support aging in place. Many community-based organizations provide nutrition, health, and food-related services to older adults, yet these efforts often operate independently rather than collaboratively. Strengthening cross-program partnerships is critical for enhancing the delivery and impact of services. This study explores partnership characteristics between Senior Nutrition Programs (SNP) and Cooperative Extension (Extension) to identify opportunities and strategies for expanding collaborative efforts. A convenience sample of 39 SNP providers and 83 Extension employees completed online surveys. SNP respondents answered a 36‑item questionnaire, asking about demographics, job characteristics, familiarity and engagement with Extension, facilitators and barriers to collaborations, and service delivery practices. Extension employees completed a 55‑item survey inquiring about demographics, programming, partnership experiences, perceived awareness of SNPs, facilitators and barriers to collaborations, and interest in future partnerships. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U tests, and chi-square tests. Most SNP providers (79.5%) reported partnering with Extension, while only some Extension employees (45.7%) reported having partnerships with SNPs. Positive SNP–Extension partnership attributes included collaboration and balance, while common partnership barriers included time and capacity constraints. Partnership status differed by work duration. Newer SNP providers partnered with Extension more often (p = .040), while Extension employees with a longer tenure reported more partnerships with SNPs (p = .037). Additionally, a significant relationship between service location and interest in the SNP among Extension respondents (p = .045) was detected. Overall, the findings of this study suggest that SNP–Extension collaborations have room to grow and can be strengthened through deliberate efforts to build trust, enhance communication, and provide training."]},{"key":"dc:format.mimetype","label":"Dc Format Mimetype","values":["PDF"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Supporting collaborative efforts between Senior Nutrition Program providers and Cooperative Extension employees to better serve older adults"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Francis, Sarah, L"],"dc:creator":["Wood, Eva, Claire"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2026-06-09T22:29:08Z"],"dc:date.available":["2026-06-09T22:29:08Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2026-05"],"dc:description":["May2026"],"dc:description.abstract":["As the number of older adults continues to increase, so does the demand for programs that support aging in place. Many community-based organizations provide nutrition, health, and food-related services to older adults, yet these efforts often operate independently rather than collaboratively. Strengthening cross-program partnerships is critical for enhancing the delivery and impact of services. This study explores partnership characteristics between Senior Nutrition Programs (SNP) and Cooperative Extension (Extension) to identify opportunities and strategies for expanding collaborative efforts. A convenience sample of 39 SNP providers and 83 Extension employees completed online surveys. SNP respondents answered a 36‑item questionnaire, asking about demographics, job characteristics, familiarity and engagement with Extension, facilitators and barriers to collaborations, and service delivery practices. Extension employees completed a 55‑item survey inquiring about demographics, programming, partnership experiences, perceived awareness of SNPs, facilitators and barriers to collaborations, and interest in future partnerships. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U tests, and chi-square tests. Most SNP providers (79.5%) reported partnering with Extension, while only some Extension employees (45.7%) reported having partnerships with SNPs. Positive SNP–Extension partnership attributes included collaboration and balance, while common partnership barriers included time and capacity constraints. Partnership status differed by work duration. Newer SNP providers partnered with Extension more often (p = .040), while Extension employees with a longer tenure reported more partnerships with SNPs (p = .037). Additionally, a significant relationship between service location and interest in the SNP among Extension respondents (p = .045) was detected. Overall, the findings of this study suggest that SNP–Extension collaborations have room to grow and can be strengthened through deliberate efforts to build trust, enhance communication, and provide training."],"dc:format.mimetype":["PDF"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://dr.lib.iastate.edu/handle/20.500.12876/106737"],"dc:language.iso":["en_US"],"dc:subject":["Food science and human nutrition"],"dc:title":["Supporting collaborative efforts between Senior Nutrition Program providers and Cooperative Extension employees to better serve older adults"],"dc:type":["Text"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Nutrition","Gerontology"],"thesis:degree_level":["thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science"],"thesis:institution_name":["Iowa State University - Thesis & Dissertation"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:38:46Z"}