Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

The objective of this presentation is to describe the intersection of resident-centered or person-centered care in long-term care (LTC) with nutrition care best practices in order to understand where nutrition policy initiatives could enhance quality of care for LTC residents, especially those with dementia. Resident-centered philosophy of care was contrasted with current best practices in nutrition care with particular attention to points of convergence and dissonance. Formally recommended best practices and adopted standards of care for LTC nutrition were collected, examined, and compared with resident-centered care directives. Health care aides provide the majority of direct resident care within LTC, with relatively little training in nutrition care. Policies and standardized care procedures help to eliminate 'guesswork' in nutrition care provision by aides, but the philosophical bent of resident-centered care does not easily accommodate highly structured nutrition care protocols. Tension exists between the tenets of a healthcare system in providing quality care and the intention that LTC is, first and foremost, the resident's home. This disconnect is highly visible with regard to nutrition care. Examination of the intersection of resident-centered care and best practice guidelines for nutrition care can help identify potential policy solutions to enhance resident care and quality of life within LTC. Policies that increase staff understanding of nutrition care goals, empowerment, and engagement in the nutrition-care decision-making process may be more successful at meeting both aims than structured or rigid nutrition care policies and protocols.