Jennie De Gagne, professor, has co-authored "Eating Difficulties Among Older Adults with Dementia in Long-Term Care Facilities: A Scoping Review" in the "International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health" as part of the Special Issue "Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia with Global Perspective."

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.

Citation

Jung, D., Lee, K., De Gagne, J. C., Lee, M., Lee, H., Yoo, L., Won, S., & Choi, E. (2021). Eating Difficulties among Older Adults with Dementia in Long-Term Care Facilities: A Scoping Review. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(19), 10109. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph181910109