Home Care of Elderly with Dysphagia / 대한연하장애학회지

ABSTRACT

Due to the increase in elderly population, there has been an increase in number of patients with dysphagia in the community. Dysphagia results in aspiration pneumonia and complications such as malnutrition, dehydration in the elderly. These complications increase the hospital admission rates and are often the cause of death. For this reason, the goal of healthcare for elderly with dysphagia living in the community is to select elderly with dysphagia by early screening, maintain adequate nutritious status and prevent future complications. The families of dysphagia elders should be educated and supported in order to successfully care for these patients at home. Severe cases of elderly with dysphagia are to receive health professional service in conjunction with the services from hospital based home care medical center. It also requires governance support so that health professionals such as speech language pathologists will care for dysphagia patients in home.