Nursing interventions to malnutrition, eating and drinking difficulties in elderly with dementia : a systematic literature review

Abstract

Abstract Malnutrition is common among elderly with dementia due to eating and drinking difficulties. The aim of this study was to describe evidence-based practices that nurse use in order to over-come these feeding difficulties and malnutrition among this group. The respondent used a qualitative approach as well as deductive content analysis in order to identify prominent themes and patterns among the themes. The theoretical framework used was Rosemarie Rizzo Parse’s Theory of human becoming. The theoretical background contains information about definition and types of dementia, its relationship with feeding difficulties and factors contributing to feeding difficulties. The study indicates that there are various interventions that nurses use to overcome malnutrition and feeding difficulties. However, nurses encounter various ethical issues during mealtimes care. Furthermore, the major stumbling block is lack of enough education among the caregivers