Developing a Meal Assistance and Oral Care Training Program for Caregivers in Indonesia

Abstract Background: In 2023, Indonesia's older adult population reached 11.75%, marking its transition into an aged society, following a path similar to Japan’s, now a super-aged country. The physiological and anatomical effects of aging are widely observed among older adults, irrespective of nationality. Thus, Indonesian caregivers can benefit from Japan’s well-established long-term care system by training in Japanese caregiving methods. This study focuses on meal assistance and oral care, crucial areas for preventing aspiration pneumonia, a leading health risk in nursing homes. Despite the importance of preventing aspiration pneumonia, few studies have assessed caregiver training programs in this field. Therefore, the authors developed and evaluated a meal assistance and oral care training program tailored to Indonesia’s cultural and social context. Methods: A training module on aspiration pneumonia prevention was designed and assessed using a 26-question questionnaire covering meal assistance and oral care. The program was implemented as an intervention study with 39 participants from private and public nursing homes in Java Island. Pre- and post-test results were analyzed using paired t-tests to determine the training’s impact. Results: Participants showed significant improvement in knowledge scores, from a pre-test mean of 18.87 (SD: 1.81) to 20.59 (SD: 1.71) in the post-test (p < 0.001), particularly among participants without a nursing background. Conclusions: The training program improved participants’ understanding of aging-related conditions, including dementia and dysphagia. Regardless of educational background, participants acquired essential knowledge to provide safe, appropriate, and comfortable meal assistance and oral care to older adults in Indonesia.