Feasibility of a Mobile Meal Assistance Program for Direct Care Workers in Long-Term Care Facilities in South Korea

• Main Authors: Jung D, De Gagne JC, Lee M, Lee H, Lee K, Choi E, Chung J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2020-10-01
• Series: Clinical Interventions in Aging
• Subjects: dementia; eating; mobile applications; nursing intervention
• Online Access: https://www.dovepress.com/feasibility-of-a-mobile-meal-assistance-program-for-direct-care-worker-peer-reviewed-article-CIA

Dukyoo Jung,1 Jennie C De Gagne,2 Minkyung Lee,3 Hyesoon Lee,1 Kyuri Lee,1 Eunju Choi,1 Juyoun Chung4 1College of Nursing, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, South Korea; 2School of Nursing, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA; 3Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA; 4Department of Comics and Animation Technology, Sejong University, Seoul, South KoreaCorrespondence: Minkyung LeeWeill Cornell Medicine, 1300 York Ave, New York, NY 10065, USATel [phone]Fax + 82-2-3277-2850Email [e-mail]: The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility and examine the preliminary effectiveness of a mobile application-based meal assistant training program (APP) for use by direct care workers (CAs) assisting residents with dementia in long-term care facilities in South Korea.Methods: We adopted a mixed methods research design, which included a pre- and post-intervention study and focus group interviews for the feasibility assessment. Participants included 23 dyads of older adults with dementia and their CAs from a long-term care facility in South Korea. Upon completion of the APP intervention, focused group interviews were conducted with six CAs and five nurses.Results: The results of paired t-tests showed that the effects of the APP intervention on the older adults with dementia and their CAs were not significant; however, the results of the focused group interviews support the potential usefulness of the APP for CAs.Conclusion: The APP may be applicable to long-term care workers who need meal assistant skills education.Keywords: dementia, eating, mobile applications, nursing intervention