2004 Investigator-Initiated Research Grant

Inadequate food and fluid intake and weight loss are common problems among nursing home residents, particularly those with dementia. The most common strategy to avoid such problems is the use of nutritional supplement drinks, but there is little evidence about the benefit of such treatments. Some evidence suggests that another approach—food and beverage snacks between meals—may increase daily caloric intake and promote weight gain in individuals with nutritional and fluid deficiencies.

Sandra F. Simmons, Ph.D., and colleagues will be investigating the potential benefits and costs of nutritional programs in a six-week trial with nursing home residents with Alzheimer’s disease. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of three meal programs: (1) a standard three-meals-a-day diet, (2) a standard diet with two nutritional supplement drinks between meals or (3) a standard diet with two between-meal snacks.

The researchers will assess staff time for nutritional care, residents’ preferences for and acceptance of interventions, costs of snacks and supplement drinks, the amount of waste, daily caloric intake for each participant and weight status. The investigators will analyze the data to determine the cost/benefit ratio of each approach. The outcome of this study may help establish research-based strategies to improve nutritional care, prevent weight loss and improve the quality of life for nursing home residents with dementia.