Feasibility of training in nursing homes and mealtime experience.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Training and collaborative work with nursing home staff: the impact on mealtime experience for nursing home residents. A feasibility study.
IRAS ID
230038
Contact name
Alison Kelly
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
London North West Healthcare NHS Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 10 months, 1 days
Research summary
This study will address whether Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) training to nursing home staff results in improvement in mealtime experience for people living in care homes. In particular we wish to address whether standard training models lead to functional change at the mealtime compared with a novel approach to training, where staff are more active participants in training.
The UK has an ageing population and care home standards are an important factor for health and social care. It is acknowledged that residents of nursing homes will frequently have eating, swallowing and feeding difficulties requiring support from the care staff looking after them. It is also acknowledged that care staff should receive training in order to provide best practice and care to the residents.
Part of the SLT role is to up-skill the members of the multi-disciplinary team (MDT) to support residents at mealtimes. Training programmes usually encompass staff feedback with regards the knowledge they have gained, they seldom address whether any functional change occurs after the training.
It is important for SLT service development to ensure the training we offer results in changes to practice.
2 nursing homes in Ealing will be recruited to the study. Participants will be observed completing their usual routines at mealtimes in the nursing home. A cohort of the nursing home residents and staff will be interviewed to provide their feedback on the mealtime experience. These actions will happen before and after training. The staff working in the nursing homes involved will attend a 2 hour training session with the speech and language therapy team.
REC name
London - Camden & Kings Cross Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/LO/1200
Date of REC Opinion
4 Aug 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion