Abstract
Purpose
To describe a feasible quality improvement system to manage feeding assistance care
processes in an assisted living facility (ALF) that provides dementia care and the
use of these data to maintain the quality of daily care provision and prevent unintentional
weight loss.
Design and methods
Supervisory ALF staff used a standardized observational protocol to assess feeding
assistance care quality during and between meals for 12 consecutive months for 53
residents receiving dementia care. Direct care staff received feedback about the quality
of assistance and consistency of between-meal snack delivery for residents with low
meal intake and/or weight loss.
Results
On average, 78.4% of the ALF residents consumed more than one-half of each served
meal and/or received staff assistance during meals to promote consumption over the
12 months. An average of 79.7% of the residents were offered snacks between meals
twice per day. The prevalence of unintentional weight loss averaged 1.3% across 12 months.
Implications
A quality improvement system resulted in sustained levels of mealtime feeding assistance
and between-meal snack delivery and a low prevalence of weight loss among ALF residents
receiving dementia care. Given that many ALF residents receiving dementia care are
likely to be at risk for low oral intake and unintentional weight loss, ALFs should
implement a quality improvement system similar to that described in this project,
despite the absence of regulations to do so.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: February 02, 2018
Identification
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© 2018 AMDA - The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine.
