An optimal meal assistance method during assisted feeding from the viewpoint of the assisted person's gaze and oral movements.

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K09656
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 57050:Prosthodontics-related
• Research Institution: Niigata University
• Principal Investigator: Sato Naoko (五十嵐直子) 新潟大学, 医歯学系, 助教 (20313520)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 堀 一浩 新潟大学, 医歯学系, 准教授 (70379080)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 食事介助 / 捕食 / 摂食嚥下 / 介護

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The purpose of this study was to clarify the effects of meal assistance methods on the assisted person's posture and oral movements during food intake and mastication, and to propose desirable assistance methods for better eating.
Recordings and analysis of the caregivers' head-torso and oral movements during meal assistance suggested that the direction in which food is directed toward the caregiver affects the caregiver's oral intake movements, and that the least burden is placed on the caregiver when the food is directed from the front downward.

Free Research Field

歯科補綴学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

食事介助において、被介助者に食物を向ける方向は、被介助者の口腔の取り込み運動に影響を与えるので、留意するべき介助要件であることが示唆された。被介助者の安全快適な食事、ひいてはQOLの向上のためには、食事介助に十分な配慮ができる、介助者にとっても優しい環境を整える必要があることが示された。