Assessment of mental health and food service satisfaction of the elderly in old-age homes in and around Vadodara

Abstract

Background: Aging causes changes in the sensory and dental problems of an individual. For the elderly, eating is not only an important activity for the maintenance of life but also a great pleasure, and therefore, the desire to eat their favorite food becomes a source of motivation to get out of bed and improve their quality of life. Materials and Methods: The current study was framed to examine the mental health and food service satisfaction (FSS) of residents under three domains (diet, food service, and food safety) staying in old-age homes (OAHs) in and around Vadodara. A purposive sampling design was used where consent was obtained from nine OAHs in and around Vadodara and the elderly (n = 123). Assessment of mental health was made using standard tools such as the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), mini-mental state examination (MMSE), and six-item cognitive impairment test (6CIT), whereas the FSS of residents was assessed by a validated semi-structured questionnaire. Results: The elderly enrolled in charitable and private institutes were 54% and 46%, respectively. The mean age of participants was 75.07 ± 9.22 years, GDS was 4.13 ± 4.67, MMSE was 23.24 ± 6.37, 6CIT was 8.02 ± 8.20, and FSS of residents was 25.89 ± 5.32, respectively. The prevalence of severe depression (100%) and poor FSS (66.7%) was found more in females than male elderly. 6CIT and FSS of residents showed a significant association (P < 0.05) with the type (private or charitable) of OAHs, showing the prevalence of impaired cognition and poor FSS higher among the charitable OAHs elderly than private homes. FSS of residents was highly significantly correlated (P < 0.05) with GDS, MMSE, and 6CIT of the elderly. Severely depressed elderly showed a significant association (P < 0.05) with severe cognitive impairment and poor FSS. Dependency in the elderly showed a significant association (P < 0.05) with severe cognitive impairment. Poor FSS of residents was significantly associated (P < 0.05) with charitable homes. Conclusion: FSS is affected by the poor mental health of the elderly. Thus, administrative staff of OAHs are suggested to assist with better diet, food service, and food safety for supporting the health and well-being of the elderly.