State of the science: alleviating mealtime difficulties in nursing home residents with dementia.

Three million people will reside in nursing homes (NH) in the United States, and over 50% will experience some level of dementia by 2030. People with dementia become increasingly dependent on others to manage mealtime difficulties and oral intake as the disease progresses. The purpose of this review is to explore the state of the science related to assisted hand-feeding of people with dementia in the NH, identify gaps, and inform future policy.

Measuring mealtime difficulties: eating, feeding and meal behaviours in older adults with dementia.

Aims And Objectives: The purpose of this integrative review is to examine the instruments currently available for clinical use specifically to assess mealtime difficulties, a concept subsuming the domains of eating, feeding and meal behaviours in older adults with dementia; and to determine the quality and practicality of those instruments for use in clinical practice.

Background: Dementia is a leading cause of death globally and the 5th leading cause of death in the USA for adults over 65. Nutritional status is vital to well-being, therefore, instruments to measure eating, feeding and meal behaviours are important.

An evolutionary analysis of mealtime difficulties in older adults with dementia.

Aims And Objectives: To use the evolutionary method of concept analysis to identify attributes, antecedents and consequences of mealtime difficulties providing direction for assessment and management in older adults with dementia.

Background: Mealtimes encompass more than the physical act of feeding a person with dementia. Social and contextual considerations are vital considerations to improving nutritional intake.