The value of social mealtimes in nursing homes

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Family style meals boost quality of life in nursing home residents.
It's an unfortunate fact of life in nursing homes that people are given plated meals which they eat on their own. This probably only adds to the loneliness and depression that come from loss of independence and illness. But now researchers in The Netherlands show it is possible to do mealtimes differently, and bring a great deal of benefit.

They looked at a group of 282 residents in five Dutch nursing homes each of which had a control or an intervention ward. The control ward carried on, with the normal pre-plated service, while the intervention ward had meals around a table, family style. The results showed that the latter led to a clear improvement in the quality of life, as well as preventing decline in physical perfomance and weight. This is good news, for organizing family style meals is simple and low cost - relying only on the motivation of the staff and residents.

Source
BMJ Online First 4th May 2006

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