Empirical study to build a model of carer-provided end-of-life dietary care for elderly people

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K00759
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Home economics/Human life
• Research Institution: University of Kochi
• Principal Investigator: MIYOSHI Yayoi 高知県立大学, 社会福祉学部, 准教授 (60388072)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: 食事介護 / 食事ケアモデル / 食事摂取困難 / 評価 / 終末期に至る要介護高齢者

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study was conducted with the aim of building a model of dietary care for elderly people in need of nursing care and approaching the end of their lives. The study included observation of cases of special elderly nursing home residents and an interview-based survey of nursing care staff. Through a case analysis of 14 residents with serious difficulty with food intake, categorization of these residents into seven different types with common characteristics was possible. Also established were 11 items, including “physical strength/posture/stamina” and “execution status,” which nursing care staff emphasized as parameters with which difficulty with food intake can be evaluated in daily life, together with the evaluation criteria for these items.

Free Research Field

介護福祉

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

安らかな看取りにつながる食事ケアモデルを構築し、科学的根拠に基づく食事ケアの方法論を確立することは、介護福祉分野における介護職のケアの質を向上させ、高齢者の看取りの質を左右するものとなると考える。また、間接的にも多職種や家族と情報を共有するツールになるなど様々に寄与する可能性がある。