Table 2 Data driven strategies to support mealtime social engagement and continuity for families living with dementia

Taking time, Focusing attention

• Make meals an important ritual in the day, not a task; avoid competing activities and interruptions

• Sit and eat together

• Provide sufficient time to eat in a calm environment

• Eat out of the home sometimes, away from distractions of meal preparation

• Focus on making the dining experience calm and relaxed

Communicating activities, staying informed, gain knowledge, share and create stories

• Use conversation aids e.g. the environment, the food, letters and messages from family and friends

• Talk about the day

• Reminisce

• Support communication by prompting around names, summarizing conversation etc.

Making decisions

• Provide options when grocery shopping, making meals and eating out

• Discuss issues/plans

Emotional support

• Be appreciative and encouraging

• Give full attention, listen

• Be easy-going; use humor

• Check in with genuine care

• Go on special eating outings to alleviate daily stress

• Share burdens

Physical support

• Provide assistance as needed with meal preparation and eating

• Simplify the menu, select meals that are easy to make and eat

• Take-out/pot-luck for entertaining

• Access external resources to provide support when needed

Psychological support

• Talk about the food and things you can see

• Ask questions that are focused on opinions or preferences

• Gently redirect if conversation is repetitive or help to identify words as needed

• Recognize that listening is also participation

• Rehearse names and connections before getting together with others

• Sit near a window, listen to the radio, read letters/emails together to provide topics for conversation

• Help make decisions about menu choices when eating out

Taking part, enabling and negotiating roles

• Recognize the meaningfulness of individual mealtime tasks including feeding oneself

• Share mealtime tasks or supervise and let others take on roles

• Be flexible; recognize daily differences in capacity and interest

• Breakdown tasks and match abilities to tasks

• Provide opportunities for repetitive activities that are meaningful

• Discuss, observe ways that a role can be adapted but still accomplished

Being creative

• Make meals attractive

• Spend time planning and discussing meals together

• Food is a common interest that is retained throughout life; use it to stimulate interest

• Try new foods and recipes

Being accepted, acknowledged, veiling reality

• Understand that change is inevitable; flex and transform

• Focus on supporting connection and dignity

• Focus on current strengths and overlook mistakes or missteps

• See the individual, not the disease or the activity

• Provide praise and encouragement; be appreciative for contributions

• Seek to understand opinions and desires

• Leave things that are difficult or challenging ‘unsaid’; protect dignity

• Avoid making others feel self-conscious or embarrassed [e.g. if appetite is poor reduce portion size]

• Show respect for choices

• Be aware of and meet preferences

Promote routines and traditions

• Keep meal routines and traditions as much as possible [e.g. where to sit, timing, and process of the meal]

• Identify essential aspects of traditions that need to be retained as changes happen; adapt less essential components

• Replace less meaningful tasks with new routines and traditions that support engagement and continuity of identity