Factors Affecting Mealtime Difficulties in Older Adults with Dementia Living in Long-Term Care Facilities: A Multilevel Model Analysis

Table 1

Participant characteristics.

Characteristics	Categories	Total n (%) or M ± SD	Range
Level 1 (older adults with dementia = 342); Intrapersonal factor
Age		84.08 ± 7.12	60–104
Gender	Male	79 (23.1)
	Female	263 (76.9)
Cognitive function		15.25 ± 7.12	0–32
Activities of daily living		4.64 ± 1.82	1–7
Period of institutionalization		3.22 ± 2.58	0–21
Mealtime difficulty		34.49 ± 11.34	19–78
Level 2 (direct care workers = 114); Interpersonal factor
Level of education	<Middle school	13 (11.41)
	High school	78 (68.42)
	≥University	23 (20.18)
Duty	Fixed	20 (17.54)
	8-hour shift	26 (22.81)
	12-hour shift	65 (57.02)
	24-hour	3 (2.63)
Current work experience (years)		4.52 ± 4.27
Attitude toward feeding		73.46 ± 10.85	43–100
Knowledge toward feeding		11.14 ± 3.26	4–19
Level 3 (long-term care facility = 57); Environmental factor
Length of the facility establishment		12.09 ± 4.63	4–26
Facility type	Private	24 (42.1)
	Corporate	33 (57.9)
Facility size		55.88 ± 44.23	13–258
	≤25 beds	4 (7.0)
	25–50 beds	22 (38.6)
	50–75 beds	11 (19.3)
	75–100 beds	14 (24.6)
	≥100–200 beds	6 (10.5)
Number of suitable environment for meals		4.68 ± 2.69	1–10
Meal assistant education experience	Yes	47 (82.5)
	No	10 (17.5)
Meal assistant education requirements	Very required	23 (40.4)
	Required	33 (57.9)
	Not required	1 (1.8)
Number of nurses		0.56 ± 1.35	0–8
Number of nurse assistants		2.46 ± 1.81	0–10
Number of direct care workers (≥6 month)		15.96 ± 12.03	2–57