Using Plain Water With Oral Care to Increase Hydration for Long Term Care Residents With Disordered Swallowing (FFWP)

Using Plain Water With Oral Care to Increase Hydration for Long Term Care Residents With Disordered Swallowing

Implementing the Frazier Free Water Protocol to Improve Hydration and Quality of Life in Long Term Care Residents

The Frazier Free Water Protocol (FFWP) using plain, thin (unmodified) water is an accepted method to increase fluid intake and hydration in older adults with disordered swallowing and dementia.This study aims to take an interdisciplinary approach to see if the FFWP with improved oral care can be introduced in a long term care (LTC) setting comparing an intervention group with a control group receiving standard oral care, to prevent respiratory infections.

The investigators will recruit a convenience sample of 36 participants from a single long-term care facility. Participants will be randomly assigned into control or intervention groups. Both groups will be assessed at study onset for swallowing and oral health and continue with agreed upon diet texture and fluid modifications. The intervention group (FFWP and improved oral hygiene) will receive a dental hygienist cleaning at onset of the study and have supervised tooth brushing before thin water between meals. The control group will continue with standard oral care and offered the full dental hygienist cleaning at the end of the study. If findings indicate no difference between groups on outcome measures (eg. respiratory illness, hydration, nutrition) then the intervention is considered efficacious in long-term care residents. If improvements in outcome measures are evident for the treatment relative to the control group, then this intervention may provide opportunity for improved healthcare and cost-savings.

All study participants will have assessments for swallowing and oral hygiene. The intervention group will have a dental hygiene cleaning and supervised tooth brushing before taking plain, thin (unmodified) water and between meals. The control group will continue with standard oral care and the agreed upon diet texture and fluid modifications.

Participants may identify with the study receiving more oral care than previously but not know if they are in the intervention or control group. Clinicians performing swallowing and oral health assessments will not know which participants are randomly assigned to groups. Nursing staff will be performing daily care on all participants as specified in daily nursing protocols and may have more oral care but may not identify whether a participant is in the intervention or control group except some staff will be adding supervised brushing before plain (thin) water and between mealtimes.

Receiving dental hygienist cleaning with supervised tooth brushing and FFWP (plain, unmodified water).

This group has assessments and standard oral care with no dental hygienist cleaning, no FFWP or supervised tooth brushing and continuing with agreed upon diet texture and fluid modification.

The FFWP with dental hygiene participants will have assessments for swallowing and oral health then proceed to have a dental hygienist cleaning. This intervention group will have supervised and assisted tooth brushing by nursing staff before taking plain (thin) unmodified water and between meals.

To determine whether the Frazier Free Water Protocol (FFWP) with improved oral care will decrease risk of respiratory illness events (eg. chest congestion, fever, etc.) for long term care residents by numbers of documented cases of upper and lower respiratory illnesses and hospital admissions over a 90-day duration.

Analysis of participant experience with FFWP intervention over the 90-day study period by scaled responses to feedback question: Did you feel this was a positive experience? Responses range from Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree and Neither Agree or Disagree.

To assess change in hydration associated with FFWP intervention measured by lab values for electrolytes, BUN (Blood, Urea, Nitrogen) and Creatinine obtained over the 90-day study period.

To assess change in nutrition associated with FFWP intervention measured by lab values for albumin, BUN (Blood, Urea, Nitrogen) and Creatinine obtained over the 90-day study period.

Inclusion Criteria: Long Term Care Residents with moderate to severe swallowing difficulty and modified texture diet; or have a dry mouth and thirsty most of the time by report of patient participant, family or staff. Exclusion Criteria: Participant Resident taking part in another study; participant finished another study in last 30 days prior to this study; Participant has dental pain or waiting to see a dentist for pain and discomfort; Participant has current chest infection including pneumonia or is prone to chest infections with more than one episode per year; Participant is unable to tolerate assessments and oral care.

Data sharing guarded by privacy legislation and will require special application. Some documentation or research materials without participant data or identification may be shared.

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