Current Challenges in Home Nutrition Services for Frail Older Adults in Japan-A Qualitative Research Study from the Point of View of Care Managers

Preventive care for frail older adults includes providing tailor-made diet information suited to their health conditions. The present study aims to explore the current situation and challenges of home nutrition advice for Japanese frail older adults using qualitative data from a ten-person group discussion among care managers. As the results of our analysis, nine themes were identified: (1) Homebound older adults develop poor eating habits; meals turn into a lonely and unpleasant experience; (2) With age, people's eating and drinking patterns tend to deteriorate; (3) Many older adults and their family know little about food management according to condition and medication; (4) Many older adults do not understand the importance of maintaining a proper diet; (5) Many homebound older adults do not worry about oral hygiene and swallowing ability; (6) Some older adults are at high risk for food safety problems; (7) Only a limited range of boil-in-the-bag meal options are available for older adults; (8) Many older adults feel unduly confident in their own nutrition management skills; and (9) For many family caregivers, nutrition management is a burden. We conclude that the provision of tailor-made information by skilled dietitians and high-quality home-delivered meal service are essential for the successful nutrition management of the older adults.