Impact of Montessori-based intervention on the eating ability of elderly with dementia

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the impact of Montessori-based intervention on eating ability of the elderly with dementia. Methods Sixty-four patients with dementia were randomly divided into intervention group(n=32) and control group(n=32). Patients in intervention group were given Montessori-based intervention, and patients in control group received regular care. The effect of Montessori-based intervention on eating ability, eating difficulty and self-eating time were assessed by the simplified Chinese version of EBS (C-EBS), simplified Chinese version of Edinburgh feeding evaluation in dementia scale (C-EdFED) and stopwatch respectively at pre-intervention, post-intervention, 1-month and 3-month follow-up. Results Compared with the control group(EBS: (12.42±3.59); EdFED: (10.48±3.83); self-eating time: (15.28±6.04)min)), the average scores of EBS(14.31±2.63) increased and the self-eating time ((21.44±7.17)min) increased after 8 weeks intervention in intervention group, while the average scores of EdFED (7.86±4.16) increased.The C-EBS scores and self-eating time in intervention group were significantly higher than that of control group while the C-EdFED scores were lower than that of control at all time points(P<0.01). The difference in time effect between the two groups was statistically significant(P<0.05) . Conclusion The Montessori-based intervention can improve the eating ability of elderly people with dementia, reduce eating difficulty and increase self-eating time. Key words: Dementia; Montessori method; Eating ability; Self-eating time; Eating difficulty