Organisational Factors in Residential Aged Care Facilities Influencing Specialised Texture Modified Diets

Abstract

Introduction: Adherence to specialised diets when prescribed, is critical to support nutritional and general health and well-being for residents of aged care facilities. Understanding the organisational factors that health service and clinical managers action can address the nutritional health of residents of residential aged care facilities.

Objective: Identify the organisational factors that influence the delivery of prescribed textured modified diets in residential aged care facilities.

Design: A scoping review was conducted using searches across four databases. Papers were screened if they were published after 2014 in peer reviewed articles, in English and covered relevant concepts guided by the research questions. Organisational factors that influenced the delivery of prescribed diets in RACFs was then extracted from the studies that met the selection criteria and a quality assessment performed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP) tool.

Findings: Thirteen articles were included in the scoping review. The studies were observational and predominately qualitative, with one study incorporating a mixed method design. Six dominant themes were identified as significant factors influencing the influence the delivery of prescribed textured modified diets in residential aged care facilities.

Conclusion: Based on the evidence identified in this scoping review, it highlights a significant gap in research that explores the multifactorial, organisational factors that influence the delivery of prescribed texture modified diets in residential aged care facilities. Recent knowledge from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety and the Aged Care Quality Standards can aid residential aged care facilities, tailored specifically to the organisation, can ensure the highest quality of care and standardised practices are provided for accurate and safe delivery of prescribed texture modified diets.