Eating well in care homes: Testing the feasibility of a staff training programme aimed at improving social interaction and choice at mealtimes

Background The health and well‐being of care home residents are influenced by their experience of mealtimes, which provide an opportunity for residents to socialise and exercise control over their lives, as well as providing essential sustenance. Care home staff are pivotal to this experience, respo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of older people nursing 2019-09, Vol.14 (3), p.e12247-n/a
Main Authors: Watkins, Ross, Goodwin, Victoria A., Abbott, Rebecca A., Tarrant, Mark
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Choice Behavior
Content analysis
England
Feasibility
Feasibility Studies
Female
Food Services - organization & administration
Homes for the Aged - organization & administration
Humans
Inservice Training
Interpersonal Relations
Male
Meals
mealtimes
Multiple roles
Nursing
older adults
Older people
Residential care
Social interaction
staff training
Women
Workshops
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Summary:Background The health and well‐being of care home residents are influenced by their experience of mealtimes, which provide an opportunity for residents to socialise and exercise control over their lives, as well as providing essential sustenance. Care home staff are pivotal to this experience, responsible for the provision of meals and eating assistance, but also for establishing a positive mealtime culture valued by residents. Despite this, mealtimes can be task‐focussed, as the pressure on staff to perform multiple duties in limited time, or a lack of knowledge and awareness, means that resident needs and preferences risk being neglected. Methods A staff‐focussed training programme aimed at improving social interaction, and resident choice was developed and delivered in a workshop. Intervention feasibility was assessed using a qualitative survey and workshop observations. A combination of descriptive and content analyses was conducted on the data. Results Thirteen women and one man took part in the workshops, representing multiple roles within two homes in the South West UK. The workshops were found to be deliverable and practicable. Participants responded positively to the workshops, anticipating that improvements to the mealtime experience would result from their workshop outputs. Conclusion This study suggests that staff training workshops based on improving the mealtime experience are feasible to deliver within the day‐to‐day running of a care home and are acceptable to staff. Positive changes resulting from these workshops could improve the health and well‐being of residents. Implications for practice Mealtimes in care homes may be improved by increasing social interaction and by providing residents with greater choice. Management‐faciltated staff training may be a useful tool to encourage staff to reflect on current practice and develop their own strategies to improve the mealtime experience for residents.
ISSN:1748-3735
1748-3743
DOI:10.1111/opn.12247