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Preventative public health policies often rely on objective criteria to identify people in vulnerable situations. Age is one of the criteria when investigating the risk of malnutrition associated with ageing. By looking at changes in the food practices of individuals as they age, this study aims to seek to contribute to more precise targeting of older adults in view of the dynamic nature of ageing.

From a theoretical perspective, this research is based on the life course paradigm. Data were collected from 42 semi-structured interviews with retirees aged 60 and over.

The results show that some ageing events lead to immense reconfigurations of individuals’ lives, implying changes as prior food practices are extensively replaced by new ones (“rebuilding after a tsunami”). Other more diffuse and gradual effects of ageing lead to adaptations of previous food practices and, in a more localised way, areas that can be targeted by healthy eating campaigns (“plugging the gaps”). Lastly, this study shows that a normative perspective can help endorse a new social role (“getting into character”), and that relying on their human capital (“it’s a matter of perspective”) can help people cope with new age-related mindsets.

The sample did not include individuals with serious physical or mental health problems at the time of the interviews.

The study identifies social, biological and psychological events related to ageing that have an impact on food practices, as well as moments and milestones for developing public policy campaigns to promote healthy eating.

The study gives insights into the place of food in the process of coping with ageing, showing that food can be either a problem to solve or a resource to help cope with social or psychological imbalances. The holistic view adopted contributes to identifying other events that impact food practices (and consequently health) during the ageing process.

The disparities of COVID-19 vaccination rates between the rural and urban areas have become apparent during this pandemic. There is a need to understand the root causes of vaccine hesitancy demonstrated by the rural population to increase coverage and to contain the disease spread throughout the United States. This study aimed to explore other factors influencing vaccine hesitancy among rural dwellers besides the geography-related barriers such as poor health care access and individuals having no or suboptimal insurance coverage.

By reviewing existing data and literature about vaccination, health literacy, and behaviors, and prevailing ideologies, we discuss the potential causes of vaccine hesitancy in rural areas that could create barriers for successful public health efforts related to vaccine coverage and provide suggestions to ameliorate the situation.

Geography-related barriers, health literacy, and preconceived notions are key determinants of adopting healthy behaviors and complying with public health authorities' recommendations among rural individuals during a public-health crisis. We argue that ideology, which is much deeper than preconception or misconception on vaccination, should be incorporated as a key factor to redefine the term “vulnerable populations” in public health research.

The limitation of our study is that we have not found an effective way to encourage the populations who hold conservative religious and political ideologies to join the efforts for public health. Even though geography-related barriers may strongly impact the rural dwellers in achieving optimal health, the various forms of ideologies they have toward certain health behaviors cannot be discounted to understand and address vaccine-related disparities in rural areas. There is a need to redefine the term “vulnerable population” particularly as it relates to rural areas in the United States. During large-scale public health disasters, scholars and public health authorities should consider the ideologies of individuals, in addition to other factors such as race/ethnicity, area of residence (rural vs. urban), and socioeconomic factors influencing the existing vulnerabilities and health disparities.