Self-feeding performance in nursing home residents.

In a study of cognitively impaired nursing home residents, excess disability was found in the specific mealtime task of drinking liquids and among those eating a puréed diet. Nursing home staff tended to rely on spoonfeeding, a process in which the resident is a passive recipient of care rather than an active participant in it, as an intervention among residents who were partially able to feed themselves. Feeding techniques other than spoonfeeding--including verbal and nonverbal prompts, and physical guiding--can support residents' participation in feeding even when independence is no longer possible.