Person-centred and task-centred care: Impact on mealtime behaviours in nursing home residents with dementia

Physical function decline predictors in nursing home residents using new national quality indicators

AIM

To determine the predictors of physical function (PF) decline among nursing home residents using items from the Long-term care Information system For Evidence (LIFE), a system launched in 2021 to ensure the quality of long-term care.

METHODS

The LIFE data of 1648 residents from 45 nursing homes in Japan were retrospectively collected in July 2021 (T0) and January 2022 (T1), including demographics, PF assessed by the Barthel index (BI), nutrition and oral health, and cognitive function. The Dementia Behavior Disturbance scale was used to assess the frequency of certain behaviors, such as "waking at midnight." The predictors of PF decline, defined as a decrease ≥5 in the BI score at T1 compared with that at T0, were determined using mixed-effects logistic regression analyses. PF at T0 was classified into high (>60 BI) and low (≤60 BI) groups.

RESULTS

The participants' mean age was 87.2 ± 7.1 years, and 45.3% experienced PF decline. The significant predictors of PF decline were age ≥ 90 years, body mass index <18.5 kg/m2 , dementia diagnosis, moderate and severe cognitive impairments, not vocalizing reciprocal exchanges at will, always "waking at midnight," and high PF at T0.

CONCLUSIONS

The LIFE items predicted PF decline among nursing home residents, suggesting that LIFE data can be used to ensure the quality of long-term care. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2024; 24: 123-132.

Mealtime interactions between nursing home staff and residents with dementia: a behavioral analysis of Language characteristics

BACKGROUND

Quality staff-resident communication is crucial to promote outcomes in nursing home residents with dementia requiring assistance during mealtimes. Better understanding of staff-resident language characteristics in mealtime interactions help promote effective communication, yet evidence is limited. This study aimed to examine factors associated with language characteristics in staff-resident mealtime interactions.

METHODS

This was a secondary analysis of 160 mealtime videos involving 36 nursing staff and 27 residents with moderately severe to severe dementia in 9 nursing homes. Mixed-effects models was used to examine the relationships between factors and language characteristics in staff-resident mealtime interactions. The independent variables were speaker (resident vs. staff), utterance quality (negative vs. positive), intervention (pre- vs. post-communication intervention), and resident dementia stage and comorbidities. The dependent variables were expression length (number of words in each utterance) and addressing partner by name (whether staff or resident named their partner in each utterance). All models included staff, resident, and staff-resident dyad as random effects.

RESULTS

Staff (utterance n = 2990, 99.1% positive, mean = 4.3 words per utterance) predominated conversations and had more positive, longer utterances than residents (utterance n = 890, 86.7% positive, mean = 2.6 words per utterance). As residents progressed from moderately severe to severe dementia, both residents and staff produced shorter utterances (z=-2.66, p = .009). Staff (18%) named residents more often than residents (2.0%; z = 8.14, p < .0001) and when assisting residents with more severe dementia (z = 2.65, p = .008).

CONCLUSIONS

Staff-resident communication was primarily positive, staff-initiated, and resident-oriented. Utterance quality and dementia stage were associated with staff-resident language characteristics. Staff play a critical role in mealtime care communication and should continue to initiate resident-oriented interactions using simple, short expressions to accommodate resident declining language abilities, particularly those with severe dementia. Staff should practice addressing residents by their names more frequently to promote individualized, targeted, person-centered mealtime care. Future work may further examine staff-resident language characteristics at other levels of language using more diverse samples.

Mealtime Interactions between Nursing Home Staff and Residents with Dementia: A Behavioral Analysis of Language Characteristics

Background. Quality staff-resident communication is crucial to promote outcomes in nursing home residents with dementia requiring assistance during mealtimes. Better understanding of staff-resident language characteristics in mealtime interactions help promote effective communication, yet evidence is limited. This study aimed to examine factors associated with language characteristics in staff-resident mealtime interactions. Methods. This was a secondary analysis of 160 mealtime videos involving 36 staff and 27 residents with dementia (53 unique staff-resident dyads) in 9 nursing homes. We examined the associations of speaker (resident vs. staff), utterance quality (negative vs. positive), intervention (pre- vs. post-communication intervention), and resident dementia stage and comorbidities with expression length (number of words in each utterance) and addressing partner by name (whether staff or resident named their partner in each utterance), respectively. Results. Staff (utterance n = 2990, 99.1% positive, mean = 4.3 words per utterance) predominated conversations and had more positive, longer utterances than residents (utterance n = 890, 86.7% positive, mean = 2.6 words per utterance). As residents progressed from moderately-severe to severe dementia, both residents and staff produced shorter utterances (z=-2.66, p = .009). Staff (18%) named residents more often than residents (2.0%; z = 8.14, p < .0001) and when assisting residents with more severe dementia (z = 2.65, p = .008). Conclusions. Staff-resident communication was primarily positive, staff-initiated, and resident-oriented. Utterance quality and dementia stage were associated with staff-resident language characteristics. Staff play a critical role in mealtime care communication and should continue to initiate resident-oriented interactions using simple, short expressions to accommodate resident declining language abilities, particularly those with severe dementia. Staff should practice addressing residents by their names more frequently to promote individualized, targeted, person-centered mealtime care. Future work may further examine staff-resident language characteristics at word and other levels using more diverse samples.