認知症高齢者グループホームにおける栄養士のかかわりとその必要性—料理活動に着目して—

抄録

  Cooking activities by elderly people with senile dementia in group-home care facilities are supposed to be effective for maintaining their QOL as well as slowing down the relief of peripheral symptoms developed from senile dementia. A national-wide research study was completed, and the results were analyzed based on whether or not the group-homes had dieticians. The real conditions of the cooking activities were also surveyed by a questioner. A total of 366 effective answers were collected by mail from the group homes from all over Japan (effective collection rate were 31.7%) .
  In 37% of all the facilities, dieticians get involved in some way or other. In the remaining facilities (63%) , there were no dieticians. Therefore, menu planning and nutrient calculations were carried out by the staffs who were not specially trained in the nutrition area, and they were concerned if their menu planning and nutritional balance calculations were properly performed. On the other hand, it seemed that a certain anxiety existed among the dieticians toward cooking-support activities, indicating that the dieticians were not provided with sufficient information about the cooking-support activity. The result indicated that, with the presence of dieticians, dietary habits can be improved. Therefore, cooking support training for dieticians should be required in group homes for elderly people with senile dementia.