The key takeaway point from the
guest lecture today is the importance of protein. Many individuals in the
hospital do not eat enough food, especially protein, and it causes them to lose
lean body mass and become weaker and frail. Clients need to be educated on the
importance of eating enough, especially while they are in the hospital. My
grandfather was in the hospital this summer and I went to visit him one day.
While I was there, he was served his lunch and my grandfather immediately
turned it away, stating that he did not want to eat anything. My grandma tried
to get him to eat something, but he refused. I knew that his goal was to get
discharged from Acute care and go to an inpatient rehab room. I told him that
he was going to need to tolerate 3 hours of therapy a day at the inpatient
rehab and that he really needed to eat to get his strength and energy back. His
eyes lit up because he had no idea that it would require that and no one had
told him about the importance of eating in the hospital. After today, I would
have told him how important the protein was especially. This shows how
important it is to inform and educate the clients so they know how their eating
would affect their recovery.
One intervention is a group cooking
class in an assisted living home. It can help the residents socialize and enjoy
cooking, while the OT will educate them on the importance of their diet.
Another intervention is educating an
individual in acute care about how their diet can assist with their recovery
and help them regain the strength needed to be discharged, as well as the
importance of continuing the healthy diet after discharge to continue the
recovery.