Choice on the menu: Increasing meal choice for people living in residential aged care, a pilot study.

Background: For residents in residential aged care (RAC), opportunities to make decisions about their meals are often limited. Increasing choice for residents requires significant changes to be made to the foodservice system to deliver nutritionally adequate, timely and enjoyable meals to residents. The pilot project aimed to understand the effect of increasing choice in meals on residents, staff and the foodservice system.

The challenges facing residential aged care homes to participate in quality food and nutrition research.

Background: There is a clear need for food and nutrition research to lead to pragmatic and sustainable solutions to the ongoing problems in residential aged care, particularly within foodservices. The present study aimed to identify systemic challenges for residential aged care homes in Australia to participate in quality food and nutrition research, using a complexity science lens.

Methods: Qualitative data from three studies in residential aged care were gathered, which included 28 participants across 21 aged care homes.

Costing Foodservices in Aged Care Is More Than Food Alone: The Development of the FCT.

Foodservices in residential aged-care homes (RACHs) play a vital role in providing meals and maintaining residents' health through good nutrition. However, foodservices are often required to work within a budget, and the costs involved in foodservices are often misunderstood and underestimated. The aim of this work was to design a costing tool that included all relevant costs of a foodservice.

Food and Nutrition Champions in Residential Aged Care Homes Are Key for Sustainable Systems Change within Foodservices; Results from a Qualitative Study of Stakeholders.

The role of foodservices in aged care is difficult to understand, and strategies to improve the nutritional care of residents are often unsustainable. In particular, food-first strategies such as food fortification are poorly executed in everyday practice and its execution relies upon the foodservice system in aged care homes. The aim of this study was to explore the perspective of staff on the role of foodservices in aged care and gauge the level of skills, education, access, time, and ability to deliver food fortification.

Meal choice for residential aged care is not yet defined: A scoping review of policies, standards, reports and guidelines.

Aim: For residents in residential aged care, making choices in relation to food and mealtimes are opportunities to maintain a sense of self and autonomy. It is unknown, however, whether the concept of choice is adequately addressed in texts relating to residential aged care. The purpose of this review is to examine whether residents' right to make choices regarding the meals they eat, is discussed in grey literature including, policies, standards, reports and guidelines, which all impact practice in residential aged care.

Can foodservices in aged care homes deliver sustainable food fortification strategies? A review.

Food fortification is used as a nutrition support strategy in aged care homes, for residents who are malnourished or at risk of malnutrition. The aim of this review was to determine the scope and strength of published works exploring relationships between food fortification strategies, mode of delivery and sustainability in aged care homes. Literature from four databases and grey literature was searched.

Impact of television on nutritional intake in communal dining room settings among those with acquired brain injury: A pilot study.

Aim: Those with acquired brain injury (ABI) experience impairments in executive function, attention and concentration that may contribute to or exacerbate poor nutritional intakes. This is frequently observed in long-stay rehabilitation settings. This investigation aimed to identify the specific impact of the dining room television as a factor that exacerbates poor intake and nutritional status among those with ABI.

Menu Planning in Residential Aged Care-The Level of Choice and Quality of Planning of Meals Available to Residents.

Background: Choice of food is an imperative aspect of quality of life for residents in Residential Aged Care Homes (RACHs), where overall choice and control is diminished upon entering a home to receive care. The purpose of this study was to examine the current strategies of menu planning in a range of RACHs in Australia, and whether this facilitated appropriate levels of choice for residents receiving texture modified and general diets.

Methods: The study comprised a National Menu Survey using a new survey instrument collecting general information about the RACH and foodservice system, menu information and staffing information (n = 247); a national menu analysis (n = 161) and an observational case study of 36 meal environments.