In an important recognition of the link between poor nutrition and oral health, the ADA has been invited to join the Working Group for the National Congress on Food, Nutrition and the Dining Experience in Aged Care to be held in November this year.
The Congress, which will bring together a representative group of homes, providers, policy makers, academics, and experts from around Australia and the world to discuss food, nutrition and the dining experience in aged care, will be held under the aegis of the Maggie Beer Foundation (MBF) which has been awarded the contract to conduct the landmark event by the Department of Health.
The objective of the congress is to find innovative options to improve nutrition and the food experience for our elderly in aged care services – something that is not a huge regulatory burden and encourages better practice.
Prior to this event, the MBF is undertaking a comprehensive review of the food and the dining experience in aged care homes in Australia which involves a confidential survey of current practices which it is believed is the first of its kind across the entire country.
In tandem with this, MBF will conduct a literature review to provide rigorous academic perspective on the relationship between nutrition and quality-of-life, which of course includes maintenance of good oral health, in older residents of long-term facilities and the factors that have a bearing on this relationship.
The Congress is part of a review of the care provided in Australia's aged care facilities which have bene under the spotlight during the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety to which the ADA has contributed on two occasions, believing evidence-based recommendations will go a long way towards improving both the quality and safety of oral and dental health care provision for older people accessing aged care services.
