Nutrition in elderly adults: An opportunity for nursing care
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Abstract
Objective: To analyze the current scientific evidence regarding the nutrition of elder adults, and identify the most relevant issues which nursing professionals need to fulfill in order to provide accurate and individually adapted related education.
Methodology: A literature review was conducted on the Proquest, PubMed, and Science Direct databases under the MeSH terms ‘‘diet, food and nutrition’’, ‘‘chronic illness’’, ‘‘nursing care’’ and ‘‘elder adult’’ in the years 2007-2016, in English.
Results: Twenty articles with rich contributions to the topic were selected. This is an important area for nursing practice and research to address diverse challenges including aging and nutrition, undernutrition and obesity, diet nursing assessment, and special dietary needs in elder adults.
Conclusions: The review of the corresponding evidence of the past 9 years suggests that a particular interest regarding the elder adult nutrition is apparent, and in this regard, nursing is in a key position to conduct assessments and interventions; however, the evidence remains not sufficient. More research is needed to integrally address the behaviors, and economic, social and cultural conditions of these persons with special dietary needs.
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