Abstract
To structure nutrition improvement approaches for care-dependent older people and related challenges, this study examined 12 medical and welfare professionals engaged in community-based integrated care services using the semi-structured interview method. [Devising measures for nutrition improvement and related collaboration] and [organizing nutrition improvement approaches] represented the approaches actually provided by these professionals to improve the nutritional status of care-dependent older people in community-based integrated care, and this indicates that all of these professionals engaged in community-based integrated care services were aware of the [correlation between the nutritional status and environmental factors] and [correlation between the nutritional status and mental/physical functions] in these people. On the other hand,
they faced various challenges such as [difficulty in collaborating with other professionals/institutions for nutrition improvement], [a lack of nutrition education and its necessity], and [non-implementation of nutritional assessment and its necessity]. The results clarified a structure, where [difficulty in collaborating with other professionals/institutions for nutrition improvement] is the major challenge in [devising measures for nutrition improvement and related collaboration] and [organizing nutrition
improvement approaches], suggesting the necessity of opportunities for interprofessional education (IPE) and interprofessional work (IPW) beyond occupations and institutions to improve the nutritional status of care-dependent older people in community-based integrated care.
