Nutrition and Dysphagia: Modifications, Enhancements and Strategies, 2nd edition

Goals & Objectives:

Course Overview

We work with individuals living in our communities or in facilities who have been diagnosed with dysphagia. Our task is to determine the most appropriate diet and liquid consistencies to maintain hydration and nutrition, strategies and compensatory maneuvers to minimize risk of aspiration, and recommend adaptive equipment to improve self-feeding and mealtime independence. The International Dysphagia Diet Standardization Initiative (IDDSI) identified characteristics of each diet, with easy testing methods to eliminate diet errors. IDDSI and the National Dysphagia Diet will be compared to identify similarities and differences. Patient-specific strategies can potentially improve diet, nutrition, and hydration. Care plans should be updated with these strategies as well as provision of staff, patient, and family education to aid in an understanding of rational and to improve implementation. Adaptive equipment may maximize safe oral intake and independence at mealtimes, reducing the need for staff assistance. The equipment will be presented with comparisons, pros, and cons to assist in determining the best fit for your patients.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completing this course, the learner should be able to:

• Recognize the impact of aging, dentition, and diagnoses on the swallow
• Recall similarities and differences between the IDDSI diet levels and the National Dysphagia Diet
• Identify appropriate strategies for implementation at mealtime for safe swallow
• Compare adaptive equipment for patient use to increase safe oral intake and independence at mealtime