Table 7.
Promising interventions that are presently unproven, but that warrant early reassessment in high quality and well powered RCTsa
| Aim | Potential interventions (presently unproven) which warrant early reassessment |
|---|---|
| Increase weight and/or BMI |
o Eating meals with care-givers eating alongside (Charras) o Soothing mealtime music (Wong 2008) o Glass-door fridge with constantly accessible snacks and additional time for meals (Wong) o Extensive staff education and support (Mamhidir) – though smaller amounts of support are not so promising o Education and support for informal care-givers of people with dementia (Riviere and Hanson) o Spaced retrieval and Montessori activities (Wu 2013) o Multicomponent intervention including chocolate supplements, gratin diet, exercise and oral hygiene twice weekly (Beck) o Multicomponent intervention including enhanced menu, more dietetic time, increased nutritional awareness and communication (Keller) |
| Improve hydration | o No very encouraging interventions found |
| Supporting meaningful engagement with food and/or drink |
o Eating with care-givers (Charras) o Family style meals for people with dementia, enhanced further by staff training (Altus) o Extensive staff education and support (Mamhidir) o Facilitated breakfast club with supported involvement in preparing, conversing, eating and clearing up (San Pietro) o Multisensory exercise (focussed on attention, flexibility, aerobic exercise, strength training, relaxation & breathing techniques, Hayn) |
| Quality of life |
o Reminiscence cooking sessions (Huang 2009) o Appropriate, particularly familiar, music during meals (Thomas, Ragneskog) o Tailored nutritional training to people with AD and their spouses (Suominen 2013) |
| Supporting eating independence |
o Directed verbal prompts and positive reinforcement, systematic prompting, cueing and behavioural guidance (Coyne, Van Ort) o Spaced retrieval (Lin 2010) o Montessori activities (Lin 2010, 2011) o Adapted tai-chi (Dechamps 2010) o Cognition action (light to moderate intensity seated exercises, Dechamps 2010) |
| Quantity, quality or adequacy of food or fluid intake |
o Bulk food service (rather than pre-plated or tray service, Desai, Shatenstein) o Pop music during meals (Ragneskog) o Some lighting and contrast interventions to improve visual cues (Brush 2002, Dunne) o Encouragement of eating through gentle touch (Eaton) o Physical activity to familiar music (Moore) o High intensity exercise (FICSIT) |
aif you or someone you care for is experiencing difficulties with eating or drinking ALWAYS discuss these eating and drinking problems with your/their doctor, and ask to be referred to a dietitian and/or Speech and Language Therapist