Speech pathologists can play a crucial role in facilitating and optimising communication and mealtime experiences in a persons journey through the end stages of their life. As a person enters the Palliative or end of life stages, speech pathology involvement typically transitions from a rehabilitative approach towards facilitating and optimising quality of life. The phycho-social,...
People who have respiratory conditions such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) face a number of difficulties. One common but not often discussed difficulty is with swallowing or ‘dysphagia’. Why might swallowing be a problem? Swallowing is a fast and complex process which involves the careful coordination of breathing and the temporary closing off of...
As we all know, aged care is a very different specialty area to other areas of dietetics and as such, our practices tend to run by different recommendations and guidelines. The management of residents with diabetes no different. What is diabetes? There are two main types of diabetes, in which either of the following occur;...
Deserving of focus is vitamin D, which is important for a number of functions, including maintaining bone health and decreasing risk of osteoporosis and osteomalacia, immune function, helping to maintain healthy skin, and maintaining muscle strength. Severe vitamin D deficiency may cause bone and muscle pain in addition to weakness, which may mean exercise will...
Optimal nutrition is fundamental to supporting quality of life and encouraging the best possible health outcomes in the aged care population. Undernutrition is generally more of a concern than over-nutrition in this population group and therefore restricted diets are not recommended for the aged unless absolutely necessary.
Have you considered how you speak to residents living in your facility and especially those with a diagnosis of dementia? Research tells us that our communication may not be aligned with best practice. Elderspeak is a term that refers to the change in communication style that occurs between older adults and their families and carers....
A resident’s nutritional status/diagnosis is important to assess within Aged Care. There is no one clinical tool or measure used but a number of measures are considered in conjunction, when making a judgement on nutritional status. These include the nutritional screening tool, food diary and the monthly weighs used to assess weight loss and calculate...
Choking is the second most common preventable cause of death in Australian aged care facilities. In Victoria alone, there were 89 choking deaths between 2000 and 2012, and adults over 85yrs accounted for the majority of deaths. Choking has the potential to cause brain injury and death due to cardiac arrest within minutes. It is...
Dysphagia is estimated to affect between 8-67% of residents in residential settings. Of this 43% are more likely to have dementia. Texture-modified foods and thickened drinks are commonly used in dysphagia, to reduce the risks of choking and aspiration. Student project (2017) Student Dietitian: Katrina Bach- Bond University Supervisor: Elizabeth Newsham-West APD Make Your Own...
The types of fats we eat, what are they, should we be having them, how much, how often??? These are all common questions that leave people feeling confused and unsure of whether or not they are consuming the healthiest diet for their body. There are two types of fats we find in food – saturated...
