Temporal Relationships between Nursing Home Staff Care Approaches and Behaviors of Residents with Dementia during Mealtimes: A Sequential Analysis

Abstract Background and Objectives Optimal dyadic interactions are critical to quality mealtime care outcomes. Prior work supports associative relationships between staff approaches individual behaviors, yet evidence on temporal is limited. This study examined associations resident behaviors during mealtimes. Research Design Methods Videotaped observations (N=160) involving 36 27 residents (53 staff-resident dyads) in 9 nursing homes were analyzed. Sequential analyses using 5-, 10-, 15-second time windows conducted for positive, neutral, challenging as antecedents well consequences of person-centered task-centered approaches. Results Residents exhibited positive verbal (35.0%) positive/neutral nonverbal (12.6%) including functional impairments (27.7%) resistive (24.7%). Staff primarily used (54.1% verbal, 40.3% nonverbal); less frequent (5.6%). Immediately (within 5-seconds) after approaches, more likely likely. After impairments, all The strength diminished 10-second windows. Discussion Implications Staff-resident associated with subsequent interactions. Person-centered was fewer behaviors. Resident care. Findings confirm the importance facilitating managing Resistive require additional awareness attention beyond commonly Further investigation needed larger diverse samples.