[Limitations in feeding behavior in nursing home patients]

Disabilities in nutrition behaviour of 250 residents and 264 newly admitted patients, 65 years and older, of a nursing home were related to their main disorder (stated as the reason for admission). More than 60% of the newly admitted patients and 80% of the residents suffered from disabilities in one or more of the four following aspects of nutrition behaviour: mostly in making a choice, often in bringing food to the mouth and chewing and to a lesser extent in swallowing food. Most of the residents also needed help in obtaining extras and preparing their sandwich meal. Disabilities in choosing, feeding and chewing were particularly frequent in the group of psychogeriatric patients while disabilities in swallowing were relatively frequent in the group of newly admitted neurological patients. The most frequent type of help offered in the case of a disability existed, was personal support and adaptation of the consistency of the food; devices to enable the patient to function independently were rarely used. The care needed by nursing home patients in nutrition behaviour, which can vary between and within patients between deserves more attention because it can determine the intake of food.