ABSTRACT
Objective To evaluate the impact of Montessori-based intervention on eating ability of the elderly with dementia.Methods Sixty-four patients with dementia were randomly divided into intervention group(n=32) and control group(n=32).Patients in intervention group were given Montessori-based intervention,and patients in control group received regular care.The effect of Montessori-based intervention on eating ability,eating difficulty and self-eating time were assessed by the simplified Chinese version of EBS (C-EBS),simplified Chinese version of Edinburgh feeding evaluation in dementia scale (C-EdFED) and stopwatch respectively at pre-intervention,post-intervention,1-month and 3-month follow-up.Results Compared with the control group (EBS:(12.42± 3.59);EdFED:(10.48± 3.83);self-eating time:(15.28±6.04) min)),the average scores of EBS(14.31±2.63) increased and the self-eating time ((21.44±7.17)min) increased after 8 weeks intervention in intervention group,while the average scores of EdFED (7.86±4.16) increased.The C-EBS scores and self-eating time in intervention group were significantly higher than that of control group while the C-EdFED scores were lower than that of control at all time points(P＜0.01).The difference in time effect between the two groups was statistically significant (P ＜ 0.05)Conclusion The Montessori-based intervention can improve the eating ability of elderly people with dementia,reduce eating difficulty and increase self-eating time.