Feasibility of a Mobile Meal Assistance Program for Direct Care Workers in Long-Term Care Facilities in South Korea

Assessing eating ability and mealtime behaviors of persons living with dementia: A systematic review of instruments

This systematic review aimed to describe the characteristics of instruments that assess eating ability and/or mealtime behaviors in persons living with dementia, and evaluate their psychometric properties. Five databases were searched for relevant records between 1/1/1980 and 5/25/2023. Records included instruments assessing eating ability and/or mealtime behaviors of people with dementia. The psychometric quality of the instruments was evaluated using the Psychometric Assessment for Self-report and Observational Tools (PAT). 45 eligible instruments were identified from 115 records. While 38 instruments were scored as having low psychometric quality, 7 had moderate quality. Edinburgh Feeding Evaluation in Dementia (EdFED), Mealtime Difficulty Scale for older adults with Dementia (MDSD), and Dementia Hyperphagic Behavior Scale (DHBS) were scored as having the highest quality (total PAT score = 9). Further refinement of existing instruments and additional psychometric testing in larger, diverse samples will improve pragmatic use in dementia mealtime care research and practice.

Interventions to address mealtime support needs in dementia: A scoping review

The decrease in cognitive and physical ability among people with dementia can significantly affect eating performance, resulting in mealtime support needs that could lead to inadequate oral intake, weight loss, malnutrition, and reduced functionality in activities of daily living. This scoping review aimed to identify and summarize available research literature on mealtime interventions for people with dementia, and their impact on older people with dementia living in a residential care setting, care staff, and care context/environment. A scoping review of available research published in English, French, Portuguese, or Spanish, was conducted according to the methodology established by The Joanna Briggs Institute. The search was conducted between November 2022 and February 2023 in the following databases: MEDLINE, Web of Science, Scopus, CINAHL Complete, and SciELO. A total of 275 articles were retrieved, of which 33 studies were selected according to inclusion criteria. The interventions were classified into four general categories: environmental, mealtime assistance, staff training, and multicomponent. Most studies demonstrated effectiveness in increasing oral intake and improving behaviors such as agitation and aggression in people with dementia. The impact of interventions on care staff was linked to greater knowledge and attitudes towards mealtime support needs. There is a lack of reporting on the impact of interventions on the care context/environment. Most interventions examined the effects exclusively on residents, focusing on their oral intake and behavioral patterns, particularly agitation among individuals with dementia. However, it is crucial to conduct studies that evaluate the impact on administrators, to comprehend the viewpoints of various hierarchical levels within an organization regarding challenges associated with mealtime. The findings of this scoping review can support the development of new supportive programs, or strategies to improve mealtime experience with positive impact according to the reality and needs of each person or institution.

Nutritional Care for Institutionalized Persons with Dementia: An Integrative Review

BACKGROUND

Older people are at risk of malnutrition, especially when they suffer from cognitive impairment. Guidelines that orient nursing care in this regard need to be updated. The aim of this review is to address the best available evidence on interventions that can benefit nutritional nursing care for institutionalized older adults with dementia.

METHODS

Integrative review using the Dimensions and Eureka search engines, and the PubMed, Embase, Scielo, CINAHL, and ScienceDirect databases. We searched from the year 2015 through to 2021. We employed the MMAT guidelines for mixed, qualitative, and quantitative studies, and the PRISMA, CASP, and JBI guidelines to value the reviews.

RESULTS

A total of 55 studies met the inclusion criteria. The best available evidence to support nutritional nursing care for institutionalized older adults with dementia highlights several aspects related to the assessment and caring interventions that are focused on people with dementia, their caregivers, and their context.

CONCLUSIONS

Both the assessment and nutritional care interventions for older people with dementia should consider the patient-caregiver dyad as the subject of care and understand the context as a fundamental part of it. The analysis of the context should look further than the immediate environment.

Non-Pharmacological Interventions for Feeding and Eating Disorders in Persons with Dementia: Systematic Review and Evidence Summary

BACKGROUND

Feeding and eating disorders related to cognitive and psycho-behavioral symptoms are strongly associated with health status in persons with dementia (PWD). Non-pharmacological interventions have been the priority selection to address this significant issue. However, the direct targets of non-pharmacological interventions are unclear and there is no consistent evidence of recommendations on the intervention of different dementia stages and the settings of intervention practice.

OBJECTIVE

To provide caregivers with a set of self-help non-pharmacological interventions for feeding and eating disorders in PWD.

METHODS

Based on the process of evidence summary, a systematic literature search was performed on dementia websites and seven databases. Two researchers screened the studies independently and appraise the quality. The evidence was graded by Joanna Briggs Institute Grades of Recommendation.

RESULTS

Twenty-eight articles were included. Twenty-three non-pharmacological intervention recommendations were categorized into six themes containing oral nutritional supplementation, assistance with eating and drinking, person-centered mealtime care, environmental modification, education or training, and multi-component intervention. These interventions corresponded to three direct targets including improving engagement, making up for loss ability, and increasing food intake directly. They were applied to different stages of dementia and most interventions were targeted at PWD in long-term care institutions.

CONCLUSION

This article summarized the direct targets and the specific implementation of recommendations at different stages of dementia to provide caregivers with self-help non-pharmacological interventions. The practice of recommendations was more applicable to institutionalized PWD. When applied to PWD at home, caregivers need to identify the specific feeding and eating conditions at different stages and adopted the interventions in conjunction with the wishes of the PWD and professional advice.

Eating Difficulties among Older Adults with Dementia in Long-Term Care Facilities: A Scoping Review

This paper reports a scoping review of the literature on eating difficulties among older adults with dementia in long-term care facilities to identify key concepts, methods of measuring outcomes, interventions, and related factors. A scoping review was performed using the bibliographic databases PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Cochrane Library. A combination of keywords and subject headings related to eating or feeding difficulties was used. Inclusion criteria were limited to materials published in English. A total of 1070 references were retrieved, of which 39 articles were selected after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Articles that met the criteria were published between 1987 and 2020. “Eating disabilities” have been defined as problems related to choosing food and/or the ability to get food to one’s mouth, chew, and swallow. Interventions for eating difficulties described in the literature include spaced retrieval training, Montessori training, and feeding skill training. Intrapersonal, interpersonal, and environmental factors related to eating difficulties were identified. This scoping review will provide direct care workers, nursing educators, and administrators with an overview of eating performance and a broad understanding of eating difficulties for older adults with dementia in long-term care facilities.