Dysphagia screening measures for use in nursing homes: a systematic review.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric quality and feasibility of measurements for screening dysphagia in older adults to identify the 'right tool' for nurses to use in nursing homes.


METHODS
A systematic review was done. Electronic databases were searched for studies related to dysphagia screening measurements. A checklist was used to evaluate the psychometric quality and applicability. Tools were evaluated for feasible incorporation into routine care by nurses.


RESULTS
29 tools from 31 studies were identified. Dysphagia screening tools with an acceptable validity and reliability had sensitivity between 68% and 100% and specificity between 52% and 100%. The Gugging Swallowing Screen (GUSS) and the Standardized Swallowing Assessment (SSA) were the tools with high psychometric quality, especially with high sensitivity, that nurses could perform feasibly to identify the risk and to grade the severity of dysphagia and aspiration of nursing home residents.


CONCLUSIONS
Results show that GUSS and SSA are reliable and sensitive tools for screening dysphagia which nurses can use in nursing homes. Further research is needed to examine feasibility of screening with identified tools, and also, to establish effective and standardized protocols for these tools so they can be effectively incorporated into routine care.
College of Nursing, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
Yeon-Hwan
YH
Park
The Research Institute of Nursing Science, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea. luvlucie@snu.ac.kr.
Hwal Lan
HL
Bang
School of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Hae-Ra
HR
Han
Seoul Women's College of Nursing, Seoul, Korea.
Hee-Kyung
HK
Chang
D016208:Databases, Factual; D003679:Deglutition; D003680:Deglutition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D009735:Nursing Homes; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
Deglutition disorders; Nursing; Nursing homes; Screening; Systematic review