Finger Food Meals as a Means of Improving Mealtimes for People with Motoric Eating Difficulties: A Pilot Study

Figures & data

Table 1. Description of the participating older adults.

Participants	Gender	Age	Diagnosis	Living accommodation
Participant 1	Male	79	Parkinson’s disease	Own home
Participant 2	Female	89	Stroke/ Vascular dementia	Nursing home A
Participant 3	Female	91	Unspecified dementia	Nursing home A
Participant 4	Female	91	Vascular dementia	Nursing home B
Participant 5	Female	82	Alzheimer’s disease	Nursing home B
Participant 6	Female	74	Alzheimer’s disease	Nursing home B

Figure 1. Presents the participant scenarios during the observations, both regular meals and finger food meals.

Table 2. Observation guide used to facilitate the observations.

Participant under observation

Description of the observation participant (Age, gender, disabilities, diagnoses of relevance, chair/wheelchair, etc.)

Before the meal

Washing hands before meals

Location (how many people sit together? / How are they placed?)

Other

Ingestion

Sitting position (sitting normally/ without support)

Eating support efforts (eating in seclusion for peace and quiet/ eating aids e.g. customized cutlery / help putting food on the plate / encouragement and reminding to eat and drink / orally and/or by physically guiding around the plate during meals / dividing the food on the plate / feeding, in whole or in part)

Manipulation of food on the plate (no spillage, no aids, using both hands)

Transportation of food to the mouth (no spillage, finds the mouth directly, no aids)

How does the person keep hold of the food? (One hand/both hands/ when it is regular food - how is cutlery held)

Has difficulty taking food with the fingers? Are some things more difficult than others?

Uses the various food components to “help” transport the food from the plate to the mouth

In what order are the different components eaten? One thing at a time or mixed? (Uses a new way to “navigate” among the food components on the plate?)

One bite in the mouth/or “bites off” a piece of the food? Difficulties with this? How to deal with possible residue after “biting off”)

Drink taken with the food (type, amount, how e.g. glass, mug, straw)

Other

Deglutition

Manipulation of food in the mouth (chews, normal consistency, does not accumulate)

Swallowing (no coughing, no extra concentration, no/only small residue left in the mouth)

Are there difficulties chewing food due to problems with teeth, mouth or dentures? (Never, rarely, once in a while, quite often, very often)

Other

Energy and appetite

Eats 1/1 serving (100%), 3/4 serving (75%), 1/2 serving (50%) or less

Energy (completes an entire meal without slowing down/fluctuating when executing the eating process, stops eating only when he/she feels full)

Appetite now compared to before? (Greatly increased, increased, normal, reduced, greatly reduced)

How long does a meal take? (Starts eating at …. And finishes eating at….)

Other

Social interaction

The interaction with the staff (encouragement, attitude, social interaction, staff’s level of treatment or service during the meal, staff’s ability to interact with the individual and meet their needs)

The interaction with other guests at the dining room (other guests’ reactions, attitudes, social interaction)

Other

Figure 2. The finger food meal (flatbread, beef rolls, potatoes and vegetables and sauce) served during the observations.

Data availability statement

The participants of this study did not give written consent for their data to be shared publicly, so due to the sensitive nature of the research supporting data is not available.