# Person-Centered and Task-Centered Care in Temporal Relation to Mealtime Difficulties and Food Intake for Nursing Home Residents with Dementia

> **NIH NIH R03** · UNIVERSITY OF IOWA · 2020 · $166,263

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Persons living with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) commonly experience functional,
cognitive and behavioral symptoms that interfere with the intake process (mealtime difficulties), which lead to
low food and fluid intake, and various negative functional and nutritional consequences. Despite increased
risks and consequences of mealtime difficulties and low intake, caregivers are neither prepared nor aided in
the management of these two significant and interrelated public health problems. Current dementia mealtime
care programs primarily focus on feeding techniques, and fail to address caregiver needs for knowledge and
skills in providing optimal mealtime care. Person-centered care (PCC) that is directly tailored and delivered to
residents, rather than task-centered care (TCC) that focuses on completion of tasks regardless of resident
needs, is highly recommended for mealtime. While evidence on the role of PCC during mealtime is emerging,
little work has looked at the impact of PCC vs TCC on a broader array of mealtime difficulties and intake
outcomes in a temporal manner, limiting the development of effective caregiver training programs. To address
this gap, the objective of this project is to identify the patterns and distributions of and temporal associations
between a) caregiver PCC and TCC behaviors, and b) resident mealtime difficulties and intake. Our team is
well positioned to accomplish this project in that: a) we have access to 111 video recordings of caregiver-
resident mealtime interaction from a prior R01; b) we developed and validated the Cue Utilization and
Engagement in Dementia (CUED) mealtime video-coding scheme as an innovative, feasible and reliable tool to
assess a) caregiver PCC and TCC behaviors, and b) resident mealtime difficulties and intake. Descriptive
statistics will be used to characterize the patterns and distributions of coded behaviors (Aim 1); and sequential
analysis to examine their temporal associations (Aim 2). This project is well-suited to the program
announcement for developing the next generation of clinical researchers in ADRD research, and supporting
innovative areas of research with significant needs to improve care for ADRD. This project is a critical first step
to accomplish the long-term goal of the applicant as an early stage investigator who is developing a research
program addressing optimal mealtime care to minimize mealtime difficulties and low intake in ADRD. Results
of the study will be used to prepare a larger RCT that will develop and evaluate an innovative mealtime
caregiver training program, preparing caregivers with knowledge and skills in maximizing (minimizing) the use
of specific care approaches that reduce (trigger) mealtime difficulties and improve (decrease) intake. This next
step complements the NIA strategic focus to support and conduct behavioral research in aging and ADRD
population to improve health, well-being, and function as they age....

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9927978
- **Project number:** 5R03AG063170-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
- **Principal Investigator:** Wen Liu
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $166,263
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-05-15 → 2023-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9927978

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9927978, Person-Centered and Task-Centered Care in Temporal Relation to Mealtime Difficulties and Food Intake for Nursing Home Residents with Dementia (5R03AG063170-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-12 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9927978. Licensed CC0.

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