Benefit of using volunteers for mealtime assistance
Benefit of using volunteers for mealtime assistance
Background: Poor nutrition is common among older inpatients and giving them enough help to eat and drink is challenging for time-pressured nurses.
Aim: To compare the use of trained volunteer mealtime assistants (MTAs) with usual care on female medicine for older people wards.
Method: A total of 29 MTAs helped 3,911 patients on the intervention ward on 229 weekday lunchtimes.
Results: Interviews and focus groups with patients, relatives, nurses and volunteers confirmed that MTAs improved the quality of mealtime care. Staff and MTAs recognised they were able to give extra time to patients who struggled to eat, which relieved pressure on nursing staff.
Conclusion: Trained volunteers can help older female patients at mealtimes, including helping them to eat, in a manner that is safe, sustainable and well received.
22-23
Rossiter, Fiona
7058d707-80f8-4cf7-b270-497b18275ca0
Roberts, Helen
5ea688b1-ef7a-4173-9da0-26290e18f253
16 March 2015
Rossiter, Fiona
7058d707-80f8-4cf7-b270-497b18275ca0
Roberts, Helen
5ea688b1-ef7a-4173-9da0-26290e18f253
Rossiter, Fiona and Roberts, Helen
(2015)
Benefit of using volunteers for mealtime assistance.
Nursing Times, 111 (12), .
(PMID:26182554)
Abstract
Background: Poor nutrition is common among older inpatients and giving them enough help to eat and drink is challenging for time-pressured nurses.
Aim: To compare the use of trained volunteer mealtime assistants (MTAs) with usual care on female medicine for older people wards.
Method: A total of 29 MTAs helped 3,911 patients on the intervention ward on 229 weekday lunchtimes.
Results: Interviews and focus groups with patients, relatives, nurses and volunteers confirmed that MTAs improved the quality of mealtime care. Staff and MTAs recognised they were able to give extra time to patients who struggled to eat, which relieved pressure on nursing staff.
Conclusion: Trained volunteers can help older female patients at mealtimes, including helping them to eat, in a manner that is safe, sustainable and well received.
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Published date: 16 March 2015
Organisations:
Faculty of Medicine
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Local EPrints ID: 386904
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/386904
ISSN: 0954-7762
PURE UUID: 8bbefa6b-ad23-42ce-8d6b-2b58ef6bd813
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Date deposited: 05 Feb 2016 12:04
Last modified: 09 Jan 2022 03:11
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Author:
Fiona Rossiter
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