TY - JOUR
T1 - Exploring resident experiences of person-centred care at mealtimes in long-term residential care
T2 - a rapid ethnography
AU - Davies, Megan
AU - Zúñiga, Franziska
AU - Verbeek, Hilde
AU - Staudacher, Sandra
N1 - Funding Information:
This paper is part of the TRANS-SENIOR project and has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 812656, the Freiwillige Akademische Gesellschaft Basel, and Novartis University of Basel Excellence Scholarships for Life Sciences.
Funding Information:
We would like to thank the full ‘TRIANGLE’ team, CURAVIVA Schweiz, Sheffield Hallam University and Maastricht University for their assistance in the project. We would also like to thank the three long-term residential care homes for their cooperation and support with our research during a very challenging time.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).
PY - 2022/12/13
Y1 - 2022/12/13
N2 - INTRODUCTION: Poor nutrition is a common ongoing problem in long-term residential care, often resulting in reduced quality of life. Previous research has concluded that the content of the meal, dining environment, service style and general atmosphere all add to the mealtime experience, suggesting that person-centred mealtimes are optimal. However, knowledge about which elements of person-centred care can be achieved in a mealtime setting in a given context is currently lacking. We aimed to understand the mealtime experience in long-term residential care by exploring (missed) opportunities for person-centred care in different settings.METHODS: As part of the TRANS-SENIOR research network, rapid ethnographies, were conducted across multiple sites (including interviews, observations and informal conversations), in a long-term residential care home in the UK, Switzerland and the Netherlands between October 2020 and December 2021. RESULTS: Following analysis and interpretation of observations, interviews and informal conversations, the following themes were developed where either successfully achieved or missed opportunities for person-centred moments were observed: 1) considering the setting, 2) listening to and implementing resident choice, 3) enabling residents to help/care for themselves and others, 4) providing individualised care in a communal setting, and 5) knowing the person in the past and present. Residents experienced moments of participatory choice, interaction, independence and dignity, but opportunities for these were often missed due to organisational or policy constraints.CONCLUSIONS: There are opportunities for person-centred moments during the mealtime, some of which are taken and some missed. This largely depended on the setting observed, which includes the overall environment (size of dining area, seating arrangements etc.) and allocation of staff resources, and the level of resident involvement in mealtimes, from preparation to the actual activity.
AB - INTRODUCTION: Poor nutrition is a common ongoing problem in long-term residential care, often resulting in reduced quality of life. Previous research has concluded that the content of the meal, dining environment, service style and general atmosphere all add to the mealtime experience, suggesting that person-centred mealtimes are optimal. However, knowledge about which elements of person-centred care can be achieved in a mealtime setting in a given context is currently lacking. We aimed to understand the mealtime experience in long-term residential care by exploring (missed) opportunities for person-centred care in different settings.METHODS: As part of the TRANS-SENIOR research network, rapid ethnographies, were conducted across multiple sites (including interviews, observations and informal conversations), in a long-term residential care home in the UK, Switzerland and the Netherlands between October 2020 and December 2021. RESULTS: Following analysis and interpretation of observations, interviews and informal conversations, the following themes were developed where either successfully achieved or missed opportunities for person-centred moments were observed: 1) considering the setting, 2) listening to and implementing resident choice, 3) enabling residents to help/care for themselves and others, 4) providing individualised care in a communal setting, and 5) knowing the person in the past and present. Residents experienced moments of participatory choice, interaction, independence and dignity, but opportunities for these were often missed due to organisational or policy constraints.CONCLUSIONS: There are opportunities for person-centred moments during the mealtime, some of which are taken and some missed. This largely depended on the setting observed, which includes the overall environment (size of dining area, seating arrangements etc.) and allocation of staff resources, and the level of resident involvement in mealtimes, from preparation to the actual activity.
KW - Anthropology, Cultural
KW - Humans
KW - Long-Term Care
KW - Meals
KW - Patient-Centered Care
KW - Quality of Life
KW - Care home
KW - Qualitative research
KW - Aged Care
KW - Dining
KW - Nursing home
KW - Older adults
U2 - 10.1186/s12877-022-03657-5
DO - 10.1186/s12877-022-03657-5
M3 - Article
C2 - 36513997
SN - 1471-2318
VL - 22
JO - BMC Geriatrics
JF - BMC Geriatrics
IS - 1
M1 - 963
ER -