2020 Volume 1 Issue 2 Pages 10-17
Purpose：This study was performed to clarify the implementation status of home care nursing for recovery of eating and swallowing function in elderly patients.
Methods：A questionnaire survey comprised of seven factors broken down into 63 items was distributed to 130 nurses on integrated community care wards. Of these seven factors, four were broken down into 43 items regarding assistance with eating, and three factors were broken down into 20 items regarding home care nursing.
Results：The items with the highest scores for assistance with eating were "observing the patients' waking status" （95.0%）. The item with the highest score for home care nursing was "gathering information regarding cognitive function before hospitalization"（90.0%）. However, there were four items less than 50% among "dietary guidance for patients and their families". The items with the lowest scores were“assistance items for food tools,” “consultation with an occupational therapist”, “salivary gland massage before meals”, and “ice massage in the oral cavity before meals”.
Discussion：Collecting information regarding food tools and increasing collaboration with occupational therapists were considered necessary to restore patients' eating and swallowing functions. There is a need for more opportunities for nurses to give discharge guidance to elderly patients and their families.
