Evaluating a brief intervention for mealtime difficulty on older adults with dementia

Abstract Aims and objective To test a spaced retrieval intervention using spaced retrieval to alleviate mealtime difficulties in older people with dementia. Design A single‐case study design. Setting Nursing Homes in North Central England, United Kingdom. Participants Older people with Alzheimer’s d...

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Main Authors: Salma Rehman, Gloria Likupe, Agi McFarland, Roger Watson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2023-01-01
Series:Nursing Open
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.1293
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author Salma Rehman
Gloria Likupe
Agi McFarland
Roger Watson
author_facet Salma Rehman
Gloria Likupe
Agi McFarland
Roger Watson
author_sort Salma Rehman
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Aims and objective To test a spaced retrieval intervention using spaced retrieval to alleviate mealtime difficulties in older people with dementia. Design A single‐case study design. Setting Nursing Homes in North Central England, United Kingdom. Participants Older people with Alzheimer’s disease. Methods A single‐case study using an ABA design was used. Data were collected using the Edinburgh Feeding Evaluation in Dementia scale, Mini Nutritional Assessment, and Body Mass Index before intervention, postintervention and following 3 months of postintervention. Realist evaluation was used to identify for which participants the intervention was effective, and an economic evaluation was also carried out. Finding Of 15 participants who entered the study, eight completed all phases of the study. A mean 104.4 h were needed to deliver the intervention. The number of sessions required ranged from 90–222. The length of time each participant retained information (for all sessions) ranged from 13–28 min. Participants had most difficulty with: “putting food into mouth and chewing it”; “realizing it was mealtime”; and “eating a whole meal continuously.” A reduction in the difficulty with mealtimes occurred between phase A1–A2 for most participants. Six participants maintained this in phase A3. Similar patterns were evident for nutritional scores. For most participants, the effect size of the intervention was moderate or large. Conclusions Spaced retrieval is useful in reducing mealtime difficulties in older participants with dementia. While the results of this study are promising, further large and multicentre trials are needed to explore the effectiveness of the intervention in diverse populations.
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spelling doaj.art-3c550498fd894d499f8d68ba8432a2662022-12-22T04:22:56ZengWileyNursing Open2054-10582023-01-0110118219410.1002/nop2.1293Evaluating a brief intervention for mealtime difficulty on older adults with dementiaSalma Rehman0Gloria Likupe1Agi McFarland2Roger Watson3Faculty of Health and Social Work University of Hull Hull UKFaculty of Health and Social Work University of Hull Hull UKDepartment of Nursing and Community Health Glasgow Caledonian University Glasgow UKFaculty of Health and Social Work University of Hull Hull UKAbstract Aims and objective To test a spaced retrieval intervention using spaced retrieval to alleviate mealtime difficulties in older people with dementia. Design A single‐case study design. Setting Nursing Homes in North Central England, United Kingdom. Participants Older people with Alzheimer’s disease. Methods A single‐case study using an ABA design was used. Data were collected using the Edinburgh Feeding Evaluation in Dementia scale, Mini Nutritional Assessment, and Body Mass Index before intervention, postintervention and following 3 months of postintervention. Realist evaluation was used to identify for which participants the intervention was effective, and an economic evaluation was also carried out. Finding Of 15 participants who entered the study, eight completed all phases of the study. A mean 104.4 h were needed to deliver the intervention. The number of sessions required ranged from 90–222. The length of time each participant retained information (for all sessions) ranged from 13–28 min. Participants had most difficulty with: “putting food into mouth and chewing it”; “realizing it was mealtime”; and “eating a whole meal continuously.” A reduction in the difficulty with mealtimes occurred between phase A1–A2 for most participants. Six participants maintained this in phase A3. Similar patterns were evident for nutritional scores. For most participants, the effect size of the intervention was moderate or large. Conclusions Spaced retrieval is useful in reducing mealtime difficulties in older participants with dementia. While the results of this study are promising, further large and multicentre trials are needed to explore the effectiveness of the intervention in diverse populations.https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.1293dementiamealtimesnutritionolder peoplesingle‐case studyspaced retrieval
spellingShingle Salma Rehman
Gloria Likupe
Agi McFarland
Roger Watson
Evaluating a brief intervention for mealtime difficulty on older adults with dementia
Nursing Open
dementia
mealtimes
nutrition
older people
single‐case study
spaced retrieval
title Evaluating a brief intervention for mealtime difficulty on older adults with dementia
title_full Evaluating a brief intervention for mealtime difficulty on older adults with dementia
title_fullStr Evaluating a brief intervention for mealtime difficulty on older adults with dementia
title_full_unstemmed Evaluating a brief intervention for mealtime difficulty on older adults with dementia
title_short Evaluating a brief intervention for mealtime difficulty on older adults with dementia
title_sort evaluating a brief intervention for mealtime difficulty on older adults with dementia
topic dementia
mealtimes
nutrition
older people
single‐case study
spaced retrieval
url https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.1293
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