Nutrition in Home Care - Essay Example

?Essay Inserts His/Her Inserts Grade Inserts (18 01, Outline Introduction 2. Key principle of nutrition 3. Potential nutrition problems 4. Therapeutic diets 5. Safe food handling and storage 6. Adaptations for feeding 7. Fluid balancing 8. Community resources for meeting nutritional needs 9. Conclusion Nutrition in home care. 1. Introduction. A home care client is depended on good nutrition in their meals if they are to gain energy and strength and restore health. Good nutrition is known to improve the physical body, add to healing and positively contribute to the management of health. This essay will discuss principles of nutrition, give potential problems for lack of nutrition and talk about therapeutic diet. It will highlight safety in handling food, discuss fluid balance and talk about community resources on nutrition. 2. Key principle of nutrition. According to Gibson (2005, p. 25), adhering to principles of nutrition gives the client strength and helps to maintain body weight. It replaces lost minerals and vitamins, boosts the immune and enhances response after treatment. The client should eat a variety of foods from the following groups; carbohydrates, protein, minerals, fats, vitamins and sugars. The foods should be taken in correct amount to maintain weight and should avoid dehydration by drinking plenty of fluids. The client can have regular exercise. Three main meals in a day with plenty of snacks in between can be adopted. Ingram and Lavery (2009, p. 218) note that, the body is composed of water, minerals, protein, fats, carbohydrates and refuse. Food that is taken builds the body. Food is important in giving the body energy, warmth and retaining heat and energy. Implementing nutritional principles enable a person to have energy, good health, and reduce sickness. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables for good health. Increase water intake. Take seasonal foods since they enhance nutrition. Take a wide variety of diverse foods and ensure food is taken in moderation. Whole food nutrition is better than separate nutrition element. Taking supplements is not an equivalent to replacing food. Take food that is good for eating and not poisonous or contaminated. It is important to discipline self to eat food in the right amount. Good nutrition can prevent and at times reverse illnesses. If nutritional principles are followed the cost of care is reduced since ailments subside. 3. Potential nutrition problems. Birchenall and Streight (2012, p. 19) mention that, home healthcare clients can experience nutritional problems despite paying attention to getting adequate food. One of the common problems is under nutrition which leads to weight loss. Weight loss can be easily identified and treated with balanced diet, correct food and beverage quantities. However, medication effects and depression that a client experience can lead to weight loss. The problem is solved by introducing feeding tubes to avoid under nutrition of protein energy. Another problem is deficiency of pyridoxine, folate, vitamin D and minerals like zinc. The deficiency of nutrients hinders healing of wounds and contributes to low immune. Additionally, failure to take adequate fluids causes dehydration. Furthermore, post prandial hypotension can occur and inevitably cause the home care client to have aspiration pneumonia. Aspiration pneumonia can cause a fall. 4. Therapeutic diets. Therapeutic diets refer to foods that are modified to meet the specific health and physical needs of a client. The modification is recommended by a nutritionist or a medical professional. The objective is to adjust the content of calories, texture or nutrients to the most appropriate depending on the client’s condition (William and Schlenker, 2003, p. 17). Therapeutic diets require patience and convincing to the client. This is because they may have body weakness, sickness, lack of appetite or self pity. It is easier to make them understand the use of diet by explanation. Therapeutic diet include food low in cholesterol, food low in residue, regular food, liquid food, soft food, low fat food, food without sodium, food for diabetic and protein diet. Food low in cholesterol is recommended for clients with heart disease and atherosclerosis. Avoid beef, egg yolk, cheese or food saturated with fats. Food low in residue is best for clients with diarrhea or digestion problems. Regular food can be given to clients with ambulatory needs. Their food should have cream sauce, rich desert, fried foods or salad dressing. Liquid food is a short term solution for clients recovering from heart attack, surgery and digestion issues. They replace water lost in diarrhea. Soft food is meant for clients who chew little and who have undergone recent surgery. For easy digestion, spicy foods, fried foods, raw fruits and vegetables, coconut, meat or food with tough tissue should be avoided. Patients with diabetes mellitus have inadequate insulin and should have certain nutrients according to their specific requirements. They should avoid foods or items rich in sugar. Some patients need food high in calorie, while others need food low in calorie. Client with cardiovascular disease should take a low sodium diet. High protein foods are given to children, pregnant mothers, lactating mothers, adolescents and clients after burns or infections. Low protein diet is given to clients with allergic kidney disease as William and Schlenker (2003, p. 17) discuss. 5. Safe food handling and storage. The way food is handled, prepared and stored could cause contamination and lead to sickness. Food can be a reservoir that can transmit bacteria from one person to another. Food poisoning can be avoided by preparing and storing food in a clean, safe environment using clean water. Safety can be achieved by observing hygiene. Use clean water for cooking, cleaning and drinking. Clean hands before and after eating food. Contaminated water and food is spread by people, pests and pets. Another safety principle in food handling is separating raw food from cooked food. In addition food should be cooked for the recommended period using the correct temperature to kill germs. Food should be kept away from contamination and at the recommended temperature. Avoid contaminating safe water or cooked food by keeping it covered (William and Schlenker 2003, p. 19). 6. Adaptations for feeding. Clients need help to feed. The home health aide will be required to feed the client with healthy and appropriate diet. Home health aide should practice patience and avoid rushing the client to take food. Give attention and focus on feeding the client. Feeding time can be used for conversation. They should show interest and think about client. In case the client is able to feed they should be given independence to feed and get support on arms. The client can be allowed to decide on drinks and foods they prefer to feed on. The client can be allowed to rest as much as possible and get breaks in between meals. There food may need to be cooked in a manner that does not make them loose appetite or vomit. It is important to be aware of the bladder and bowel movements, to assess if they need more liquids and fiber. Feed the patients according to their nutritional needs and vary the foods widely. Adjust the nutrition as required from time to time and engage the client as much as possible in the decision making when feeding them. The client may not be able feed orally and this may cause the patient to use enteral feeding. Enteral feeding is commonly known as tube feeding. Tube feeding is given to patients after a surgery or very ill patients. Tube feeding is safe and allows the caregivers to give nutritional supplements. The feeding tubes have different thickness and are inserted differently according to the individual needs of the client. They require monitoring and accuracy in use to ensure the client is comfortable as they benefit from the feeding. Besides using the feeding tubes as an adaptation for giving nutrition, the feeding tubes can be used to give medication (Bradnam and White, 2010, p. 3). 7. Fluid balancing. Fluid balance entails ensuring the correct amount of fluid is retained in the body. The input and output should be in continuation. Diseases or illness can be a cause of imbalance and this should be considered when handling specific client’s needs. Metheny (2010, p. 9) points out that, reduction of body fluid could cause thirst, illness and sometimes death. Fluid in the body changes with the age, body fat and gender. Fluid is lost with exercise, urination, sweating, hemorrhage, vomiting, diarrhea and diuretics. Fluid is retained if client has liver cirrhosis, has high sodium in the body, and has renal failure, if intravenous fluid is given excessively and where there is congestive cardiac. Fluid balance assists the body in controlling fluid input and output. As a result, fluid balance ensures there is a balance of the hormones. The home health aide may keep the record of weight, blood pressure, respiration, pulse, urine output, tongue saliva, skin thirst, face and temperature in the management of fluid balance. Therefore fluid balance prevents dehydration, and can restore health after fluid loss following an illness. When the fluid balance record is kept, the information can be used to detect deteriorating health. The client becomes comfortable. Thirst or dryness of tongue, sunken eyes and weakness is uncomfortable. Lack of fluid could cause constipation. Furthermore, fluid imbalance could lead to loss of weight. Fluid balance is necessary because the client may be unable to tolerate deprivation from fluid. 8. Community resources for meeting nutritional needs. There are programs as well as services offered in the community to assist the sick, elderly, children and those in need to get food services. The services aim at meeting the nutritional needs of specific groups like the children and elderly. The Food and Nutrition Service in United States is one of the agencies that help distribute excess food from farms to the needy. The National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast help meet dietary needs of the school going children. Food Stamp Program educates the low income earners on nutrition and gives stamps to the special groups to access food. The Commodity Supplementary Food Program, Nutrition Program for older America, and Head Start Program allows the elderly to get food, education and transport. The programs and services enable the different groups meet their nutritional needs. There are also community programs that offer home delivered meals, social services and home care services from volunteers. 9. Conclusion. Nutrition in home care contributes to the health of the client. Principles of nutrition require that protein, carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins, sugars and fats be included in a diet. Food should be taken in correct amount and cooked according to recommended time. Adequate water should be taken and regular exercise adapted. Safe and clean food free from contamination or poison should be avoided. If nutrition is not taken as required the client can lose weight, become dehydrated, get ill, get post prandial hypotension or get aspiration pneumonia. Therapeutic food include: liquid food, regular food, food low in cholesterol, food low in residue, low fat food, food for diabetic, food without sodium, soft food, and protein diet. Food and water should be stored away from contamination. Different clients will need assistance in diet to be able to get nutrition and medication by adapting to diverse texture and method of feeding. Fluids need to be monitored to avoid dehydration or over hydration in the body. The client can get assistance from different services and programs in the community to meet nutritional needs. Bibliography Birchenall, J. and Streight, E. (2012) Mosby’s Text book for the Home Care Aide. Missouri: Mosby. Bradnam, V. and White, R.(2010) Handbook of Drug Administration Via Enteral Feeding Tubes, Illinois: Pharmaceutical Press. Gibson, R. S. (2005) Principles of nutritional Assessment. USA: Oxford University Press. Ingram, P. and Lavery, I. (2009) Clinical skills for healthcare Assistants. John Wiley and Sons. Metheny, N. M. (2010) Fluid and Electrolyte Balance: Nursing Considerations,  Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett Learning. William, R. and Schlenker, E. D. (2003) Essentials of Nutrition and Diet Therapy. Mosby. Read More