Assessing eating ability and mealtime behaviors of persons living with dementia: A systematic review of instruments

Abstract

This systematic review aimed to describe the characteristics of instruments that assess eating ability and/or mealtime behaviors in persons living with dementia, and evaluate their psychometric properties. Five databases were searched for relevant records between 1/1/1980 and 5/25/2023. Records included instruments assessing eating ability and/or mealtime behaviors of people with dementia. The psychometric quality of the instruments was evaluated using the Psychometric Assessment for Self-report and Observational Tools (PAT). 45 eligible instruments were identified from 115 records. While 38 instruments were scored as having low psychometric quality, 7 had moderate quality. Edinburgh Feeding Evaluation in Dementia (EdFED), Mealtime Difficulty Scale for older adults with Dementia (MDSD), and Dementia Hyperphagic Behavior Scale (DHBS) were scored as having the highest quality (total PAT score = 9). Further refinement of existing instruments and additional psychometric testing in larger, diverse samples will improve pragmatic use in dementia mealtime care research and practice.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Dementia; Eating; Mealtime behaviors; Psychometrics.