An Intervention Study of Self-feeding for the Elderly in Nursing Homes

Article information

Res Community Public Health Nurs. 2017;28(4):450-462

Publication date (electronic) : 2017 December 12

doi : https://doi.org/10.12799/jkachn.2017.28.4.450

Department of Nursing, Saekyung College, Yeongwol, Korea

Corresponding author: Lee, Kyung Hee Department of Nursing, Saekyung College, 197 Hasong-ro, Yeongwol-eup, Yeongwol 26239, Korea. Tel: +82-33-371-3164, Fax: +82-33-371-3239, E-mail: eamilriana@hanmail.net

Received 2017 July 18; Revised 2017 October 23; Accepted 2017 November 19.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the effects of an intervention of self-feeding for elderly residents who were eating with assistance or eating by himself/herself with spilling food.

Methods

The Participants were 11 elderly people and 6 formal caregivers from 7 nursing homes in Korea. The intervention was to use the spoon and chopstick sets designed for compensating the weakened eating function. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected through observation, structured questions, and in-depth interviews.

Results

The mealtime was significantly increased by 3.2 minutes (p=.011) after the intervention. Three themes were extracted for the meaning of self-feeding expressed by the elders; fighting alone for self-feeding, pride of participating in the study, and burden for self-feeding and research participation. Caregivers expressed the meaning of the elder’s self-feeding such as the regret of missed chances, facilitating rehabilitation, the increase of the eating pleasure and quality of care, and ambivalence.

Conclusion

Self-feeding has become an opportunity to recognize life values for the elders in nursing homes; for the caregivers, to reconsider caring of the elderly. Posture and eating utensils were also important to improve self-feeding skills.

Keywords: Feeding behavior; Food assistance; Aged; Caregivers; Nursing homes

Figure 1.

Supply on food assistance.

Figure 2.

Research task progress.

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Figure 1.

Supply on food assistance.