An Investigation of Nutritional Status and Satisfaction with Life of Elderly People Living in Nursing Homes and Their Own Homes

Aim: The aim of this study is the investigation of the nutritional status and life satisfaction of elderly people living in nursing homes and in their own homes. Method: The study was conducted on a total of 106 elderly people; 52 elderly people (20 men, 32 women) living in a private nursing home and 54 elderly people (16 men, 38 women) living in their own homes in Istanbul between November 2016 and February 2017. Face to face interview method used; participant demographics, Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) and 24-hour retrospective food consumption were collected. The data were evaluated using the SPSS 23.0 program. Findings: The average age of people living in nursing homes is 77.52 ± 9.51 and 70.36 ± 7.20 years in people living in their own homes. 83.3% of the elderly living in their own homes, 9.3% were living alone, and 7.4% were living with children. There was no difference between the groups in terms of main meals (p>0.05), while the consumption of snacks was found less in the living in the nursing home (p<0.05). 50% of the elderly residents in nursing home are at risk of malnutrition and 7.7% of them has malnutrition. These rates were 20.6% and 3.7% in the elderly living in their own home respectively (p <0.05). The intake of energy, protein, fat were found to be lower in nursing home residents (p <0.05). No difference was found between satisfaction with life. Conclusion: Elderly people living in nursing homes have higher malnutrition status and lower energy and macro nutrient intake. In both groups, satisfaction with life was found to be high. It is suggested that malnutrition can be assessed by evaluating the psychological direction, regular malnutrition screening, and factors affecting life satisfaction