Dysphagia management of elderly in nursing home : skills and knowledge of frontline staff

Abstract

Dysphagia is a common geriatric disorder among institutionalized elderly. Appropriate management on dysphagia is important to ensure the health and quality of life of elderly residents. This study investigated the knowledge and skills on dysphagia management of the frontline staff in Hong Kong nursing homes. A total of 243 staff, including health workers, care workers and care worker assistants, were recruited from 12 government-supported residential care homes. All participants completed the Questionnaire of Dysphagia Management to assess their knowledge. The feeding skills of 109 participants were assessed through observation while they were feeding the elderly. Results showed that the participants demonstrated inadequate knowledge on dysphagia management and inappropriate feeding behaviors. Areas of insufficient knowledge and the reason of staff’s unsatisfactory level of knowledge on dysphagia management were discussed. Developing an effective training protocol for frontline staff on dysphagia management was recommended in order to improve the standard of government-supported health care services for elderly.