Food intake is associated with verbal interactions between nursing home staff and residents with dementia: A secondary analysis of videotaped observations.

The videos came from a convenience sample and showed only part of a meal, with varied durations and one-on-one interactions, so they may not reflect whole meals, more complex interactions, or other settings. The main analysis used 104 videos involving 24 residents and 28 staff, so the sample was small and may not represent all residents with dementia. Staff knew they were being recorded, which may have made their mealtime behaviour more positive than usual. Data on swallowing problems or diet prescriptions were not collected, which may affect the relationship between intake and staff-resident talk. The outcome counted bites and drinks per minute, so it measured pace, not how much food or liquid was consumed or whether a meal was completed. Staff negative utterances accounted for 0.01% of staff utterances, so the study could not examine their role. Resident negative utterances were measured as none versus one or more, and 68.2% of videos had none, limiting variation.

The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Do not conclude that adding positive staff talk will increase how much residents eat. The study measured bites and drinks per minute, not total amount, and staff positive talk was associated with less solid intake when residents also made positive utterances.