Mooshee News: Alzheimer's Weight Gain Initiative Also Improved Patients' Intellectual Abilities.
Mooshee.com: Knowledge is Health!
Newsfeed: http://www.mooshee.com/newsfeed.php
--------------------------
Mooshee.com - Swedish researchers have found a way to increase the weight of
people with Alzheimer's, by improving communication and patient involvement,
altering meal routines and providing a more homely eating environment During
the three-month study, published in the May issue of Journal of Clinical
Nursing, 13 of the 18 patients in the intervention group put on weight,
compared with just two of the 15 patients in the control group. Patients who
gained weight also displayed improved intellectual abilities. "Weight loss
is a common issue among people with dementia and in particular Alzheimer's"
explains lead researcher Anna-Greta Mamhidir from the Karolinska Institutet
in Stockholm, Sweden. "Meal environment, communication difficulties, loss of
independence and confusion are just some of the factors that appear to
contribute to this problem. "Malnutrition can also lead to other serious
issues, such as increased infection rates, delayed wound healing and
increased risk of hip fractures." The aim of the study was to measure weight
changes in patients with moderate and severe dementia and analyse whether
providing staff training and a more supportive environment could lead to
weight gain. Two nursing home wards with similar staffing profiles and
numbers of patients were selected. Both received meals from the same central
kitchen. The medical profiles of the two groups of patients were similar and
drug regimes were unaltered during the study. Most of the patients had
communication problems and memory loss and were physically dependent on
staff. Patients in the intervention group weighed between 31.5kg and 76kg at
the start of the study, with an average weight of 55.9kg. By the end of the
study this average had risen to 56.4kg.
When the team looked at individual patients they found that the largest
weight gain in the intervention group was 7kg (15.4 pounds) and the smallest
was 0.6kg (1.3 pounds). Patients in the control group weighed between 45kg
and 76.3kg at the start of the study, with an average weight of 62.5kg. This
average fell to 58.4kg over course of the study. Staff in the intervention
group attended a one-week training course run by a psychologist and
professor of nursing science. It comprised 20 hours of lectures and 18 hours
of group discussion covering three key themes: delivering care in a way that
promotes the patient's integrity, how to communicate more effectively with
patients with dementia and how to create a calmer and more homely
environment. During the study, the staff who had received training were
asked to keep diary notes of any changes and they effect they had on
patients. They also received support and encouragement from a research
assistant, who spent most days on the ward, and a nurse researcher who
visited the ward three to four times a week. .Cont.
http://www.mooshee.com/article-2996517.htm