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

Dukyoo Jung,Leeho Yoo,Eunju Choi,Minkyung Lee,Sarah Won,Jennie C De Gagne,Kyuri Lee,Hyesoon Lee

doi:10.3390/ijerph181910109

Abstract

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.

Highlights

To examine the key concepts of eating difficulties among older adults with dementia residing in long-term care facilities, a scoping review was performed following the framework developed by Arksey and O’Malley [17] and recently revised by Levac et al [18]
This scoping review examined the literature on eating difficulties and feeding difficulties of older adults with dementia residing in long-term care facilities, shedding light on the eating difficulties within this population
This review examined studies focusing on caregiver interventions for eating difficulties in older adults with dementia; these were mainly studies based on behavior modification for skill training for caregivers assisting older adults with dementia during mealtime

Summary

Introduction

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Around 50 million people have dementia, a major cause of disability and dependency among older people [1]. The total number of people with dementia is projected to reach 82 million in 2030 and 152 million in 2050 [1]. Dementia is a disease that causes progressive deterioration affecting cognitive function, physical function, language, and memory [2]. The physical function of older adults with dementia gradually decreases until they need to enter long-term care facilities [3].

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Conclusion