Thinking about drinking: preventing dehydration in care homes

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  An exploratory study to investigate the issues involved in maintaining hydration to prevent dehydration occurring in people aged 65 or over and living in a care home

• IRAS ID

  141695

• Contact name

  Diane Bunn

• Contact email

  d.bunn@uea.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  University of East Anglia

• Research summary

  The aim of this study is to increase our understanding of why residents aged 65 or over and living in care homes, often drink too little fluid, thus increasing their risk of dehydration (Armstrong-Esther et al, 1996).
  Older people are already at greater risk of developing dehydration due to the physiological effects of aging. When increasing age is combined with other factors, such as being physically and/or mentally frail, then this risk becomes greater.
  Dehydration is associated with a number of poor health outcomes such as: increased risk of falling, developing urinary tract infections, constipation and confusion.
  There are likely to be a number of issues associated with why older people do not drink enough to remain healthy. Some of these may be related to environmental conditions, such as poor availability of palatable drinks, or it may be due to personal concerns, such as lack of awareness of the importance of drinking, or worries about incontinence. Few studies have explored the issues from the perspectives of the residents themselves and their network of carers. Therefore, this study proposes to investigate possible reasons behind insufficient fluid intake, by inviting residents, their families and carers to participate in focus group discussions, so that we can learn about the underlying issues in order to develop more effective preventative strategies.

  Reference List
  Armstrong-Esther CA, Browne KD, Armstrong-Esther DC, et al. The institutionalized elderly: dry to the bone! International Journal of Nursing Studies 1996. 33:619-628

• REC name

  London - Camberwell St Giles Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  14/LO/0127

• Date of REC Opinion

  28 Jan 2014

• REC opinion

  Favourable Opinion