Multi-Level Factors Associated with Relationship-Centred and Task-Focused Mealtime Practices in Long-Term Care: A Secondary Data Analysis of the Making the Most of Mealtimes Study

Mealtimes in long-term care (LTC) can reinforce relationships between staff and residents through relationship-centred care (RCC) practices; however, meals are often task-focused (TF). This cross-sectional study explores multi-level contextual factors that contribute to RCC and TF mealtime practices. Secondary data from residents in 32 Canadian LTC homes were analyzed (n = 634; mean age 86.7 ± 7.8; 31.1% male). Data included resident health record review, standardized mealtime observation tools, and valid questionnaires. A higher average number of RCC (9.6 ± 1.4) than TF (5.6 ± 2.1) practices per meal were observed. Multi-level regression revealed that a significant proportion of variation in the RCC and TF scores was explained at the resident- (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC]RCC = 0.736; ICCTF = 0.482), dining room- (ICCRCC = 0.210; ICCTF = 0.162), and home- (ICCRCC = 0.054; ICCTF = 0.356) levels. For-profit status and home size modified the associations between functional dependency and practices. Addressing multi-level factors can reinforce RCC practices and reduce TF practices.

Impact of COVID-19 on Relationship-Centred Residential Dining Practices

This study describes changes in dining practices and provider perspectives on meal-related challenges due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. An online survey was disseminated between July and September 2020 through stakeholder networks and social media with 1,036 respondents. Altered dining practices included residents eating in rooms (54.3%), spacing residents in common areas for meals (69.3%), and disposable dish use (44.9%). The most common mealtime challenges were reduced socializing opportunities at meals (29.3%), inadequate staffing (22.8%), reduced family/volunteer help (16.7%), and assisting residents to eat (10.5%). Many participants (72.2%) felt conflict balancing safety and relationship-centred care. Geographic region, home size, building age, respondent’s job title, pre-pandemic relationship-centred practices, and mealtime satisfaction, and some pandemic-initiated practices were associated with mealtime challenges and feeling conflicted in binary logistic regression analyses. Considering trade-offs between safety and relational aspects of mealtimes during the pandemic is crucial.

Mealtime verbal interactions among nursing home staff and residents with dementia: A secondary behavioural analysis of videotaped observations

AIMS

To characterize dyadic mealtime verbal interactions and examine the associations with staff and resident characteristics.

DESIGN

A secondary analysis of 110 videotaped mealtime observations collected from a dementia communication trial during 2011-2014.

METHODS

Videos involved 25 residents with dementia and 29 staff in nine nursing homes. Verbal behaviours (utterances) were coded during 2018-2019 using the Cue Utilization and Engagement in Dementia mealtime video-coding scheme, addressing eight positive behaviours and four negative behaviours. Bivariate analyses and multivariate regression models were used.

RESULTS

Staff spoke three times more frequently (76.5%) than residents (23.5%). Nearly all staff utterances were positive (99.2%); 85.1% of residents' utterances were positive and 14.9% negative. Staff positive utterances were correlated with their negative utterances and resident positive and negative utterances. Staff negative utterances were correlated with resident negative utterances. Resident positive and negative utterances were correlated. Resident positive utterances were significantly associated with staff care-giving length in the current nursing home (OR = 1.430, 95% CI = 1.008, 2.027). Resident negative utterances were significantly associated with resident gender (female versus male, OR = 11.892, 95% CI = 1.237, 114.289) and staff years worked as a caregiver (OR = 0.838, 95% CI = 0.710, 0.989). Staff positive and negative utterances were not associated significantly with any participant characteristics.

CONCLUSIONS

Staff engage residents using primarily positive verbal strategies. Staff-resident mealtime verbal interactions were dynamic, interactive, and complex and related to multiple individual characteristics.

IMPACT

Positive dyadic mealtime interactions are critical to engage residents in eating. Little work has characterized dyadic mealtime interactions, limiting the development of effective interventions. Findings showed staff-resident mealtime verbal interactions were primarily positive, inter-related, and associated with multiple individual characteristics. Findings inform directions to improve mealtime care practice and develop person-centred mealtime interventions targeting modifiable factors, including staff care-giving experiences.

Ease of use, feasibility and inter-rater reliability of the refined Cue Utilization and Engagement in Dementia (CUED) mealtime video-coding scheme

AIMS

To refine the Cue Utilization and Engagement in Dementia mealtime video-coding scheme and examine its ease of use, feasibility, and inter-rater reliability in assessing the food intake process and dyadic verbal and nonverbal interactions.

DESIGN

This study was a secondary analysis of 110 videotaped observations of mealtime interactions collected under usual care conditions from a dementia communication trial during 2011-2014.

METHODS

The videos involved 29 staff and 25 residents with dementia (42 unique staff-resident dyads) in nine nursing homes. Data coding and analysis were performed in 2018-2019. Logs of coding challenges with matched solutions and coding time were collected. Inter-rater reliability was examined through rating of randomly selected 22 videos across four trained coders.

RESULTS

It took a mean of 10.81 hr to code a one-hour video using the refined coding scheme. Coding challenges, including identification of key intake process characteristics and differentiation of similar verbal or nonverbal behaviours, were identified with appropriate solutions. The refined coding scheme had good inter-rater reliability (Cohen's Kappa range = 0.93 - 0.99, 95% CI = 0.92 - 0.99).

CONCLUSION

Findings supported preliminary evidence on feasibility, usability and inter-rater reliability of the refined coding scheme. Future psychometric testing is needed in diverse populations with dementia across different care settings.

IMPACT

Existing tools assessing the food intake process and dyadic interactions are few and have limited feasibility and/or reliability and fail to capture the complexity and dynamics of mealtime care. The refined coding scheme showed preliminary feasibility, usability, and inter-rater reliability. In consideration of the balance between time intensity and the richness of data obtained, the tool may be appropriate and useful in addressing certain research inquires (e.g., characterizing and clustering dyadic behaviours, temporal relationship between behaviours and intake) pertaining older adults with or without dementia and their formal or informal caregivers.

Food intake is associated with verbal interactions between nursing home staff and residents with dementia: A secondary analysis of videotaped observations

BACKGROUND

Nursing home residents with dementia commonly experience low food intake, leading to negative functional and nutritional consequences. While the importance of staff-resident (dyadic) interactions during mealtime is acknowledged, little research has examined the role of dyadic verbal interactions on food intake.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to examine the relationship between food intake and dyadic verbal interactions.

METHODS

This study was a secondary analysis of 110 videotaped observations of mealtime care interactions among 25 residents with dementia and 29 staff (42 unique dyads) in 9 nursing homes. Staff positive utterances and resident positive and negative utterances (independent variables) and food intake (dependent variable) were coded from the videotaped observations using the Cue Utilization and Engagement in Dementia video coding scheme. A linear mixed model was fit to the data. The two-way interaction effects of food type and video duration with each independent variable as well as two-way interaction effects among the independent variables were tested. Covariates included in the model were the number of years staff worked as a caregiver, and resident age, gender, and eating function.

RESULTS

The model included three significant interaction effects involving verbal variables: the interaction effect of staff positive utterances with resident positive utterances (p=.030), the interaction effect of staff positive utterances with food type (p=.027), and the interaction effect of resident negative utterances with video duration (p=0.002). Increased number of intakes of liquid food per minute was associated with increased number of staff positive utterances per minute when residents did not make positive utterances. Decreased number of intakes of solid food per minute was associated with increased number of staff positive utterances per minute, especially when residents made between 0 and 3 positive utterances per minute. As the duration of the videos increased, the number of intakes per minute increased for residents who made one or more negative utterances and decreased for residents who made no negative utterances in the videos. The number of intakes per minute was associated with resident gender in that male residents had increased number of intakes per minute compared with female residents (p=.017), and was not associated with other participant characteristics.

CONCLUSION

Intake was associated with dyadic verbal interactions, and such relationship was complex in that it was moderated by food type and video duration. Findings support the significant role of dyadic verbal interactions on intake, and inform the development of effective, tailored mealtime care interventions to promote intake.