Dysphagia Prevention Strategies for Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Scoping Review.

BACKGROUND

Swallowing difficulty, or dysphagia, is a common issue in aging populations, including those living in the community, due to age-related changes in sensory and motor functions. Effective prevention strategies are essential to avoid complications and improve well-being in this population.

OBJECTIVE

The objectives of this scoping review were to identify and summarise interventions for preventing dysphagia in community-dwelling older adults.

DESIGN

Following Arksey and O'Malley's framework, studies were retrieved from six databases: Embase, Ovid-Medline, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, Web of Science, and Scopus. The search was completed in July 2024, with two independent reviewers selecting and evaluating the studies.

RESULT: Nine studies conducted between 2005 and 2023 were identified, including seven randomised controlled trials and two quasi-experimental studies. Three categories of dysphagia prevention were identified, including exercise, electrical stimulation, and educational programmes, and three studies used more than one intervention (combined intervention).

CONCLUSION

Exercise-based interventions are the most studied strategies for preventing dysphagia in community-dwelling older adults, with combined approaches also showing promise. However, geographic bias, unclear sample size determination, and a lack of long-term follow-up limit the reliability and applicability of all interventions. Future research should address these gaps to strengthen evidence and improve dysphagia prevention efforts.