Weight Loss Prevention
::
::
::
::
::
::
::
::
::
::
::
::
::
::
|
|
An Intervention to Increase Fluid Intake in Nursing Home Residents: Prompting and Preference Compliance
Sandra F. Simmons, Cathy Alessi, and John F. Schnelle, 2001, in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 49:926-933.
This study showed that total daily fluid intake among nursing home residents increased when residents were encouraged to drink between meals and given beverages they liked. Eighty-one percent of the 48 residents who participated in the study significantly increased their average daily fluid intake when research staff verbally prompted them to drink on four to eight occasions between meals. Fluid intake increased even more, and refusals to drink dropped, when residents were offered the beverage of their choice. However, average daily increases were small-less than 5 ounces per day-for as many as one-third of the participants. Cognitive status influenced the effectiveness of the intervention. Residents with greater cognitive impairment were more likely to increase their fluid intake in response to verbal prompts alone, whereas cognitively intact residents needed the added incentive of their preferred beverage to increase consumption. Increases in between-meal fluids had no effect on residents' fluid intake during meals. Residents maintained their responsiveness to this simple intervention over eight months and showed significant improvements in their hydration status as a result of the increase in daily fluid intake.
Back to list | Next study
|
|
|
