პირადი მოვლა და ყოველდღიური ცხოვრება [LTC-03]

პირადი მოვლა და ყოველდღიური ცხოვრება [LTC-03]: Nutrition, Hydration, and Daily Living Support in Long-Term Care

Malnutrition affects an estimated 30–50% of residents in long-term care facilities globally, and dehydration remains a leading precipitant of preventable hospitalisations among older adults — yet both conditions are systematically underdetected and undermanaged in institutional settings. In Georgia, where the long-term care sector is undergoing rapid structural expansion under the ASF accreditation framework, care teams are increasingly expected to meet documented nutritional and functional support standards that many have not been formally trained to implement. This course directly addresses that gap, providing the clinical knowledge and practical tools necessary to identify nutritional risk early, manage dysphagia safely, and sustain the daily living support that underpins dignity, function, and quality of life across a resident’s entire care trajectory. Competency in this domain is no longer discretionary: it is a measurable, surveyable expectation of every accredited long-term care facility.

The course is grounded in the best available international evidence, including the ESPEN guidelines on clinical nutrition in geriatrics, WHO recommendations on integrated care for older people (ICOPE), and the Minimum Data Set (MDS) nutritional assessment protocols widely adopted in JCI-accredited facilities. Teaching methodology combines structured didactic content with case-based scenario analysis drawn from realistic South Caucasus care settings, enabling participants to apply validated screening instruments — including the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) and the Eating Assessment Tool (EAT-10) — to the patient profiles they encounter in daily practice. All content is mapped to the nutritional and personal care domains specified in current ASF long-term care accreditation standards.

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Apply the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) and MUST screening tools to identify residents at nutritional risk and document findings in a format compliant with ASF accreditation requirements.
• Distinguish between the clinical presentations of oropharyngeal and oesophageal dysphagia and implement appropriate dietary texture modification according to the IDDSI (International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative) framework.
• Evaluate hydration status in older adults using validated clinical indicators and construct an individualised fluid management plan that accounts for functional dependency, cognitive impairment, and medication burden.
• Design a structured nutritional monitoring protocol — including weight surveillance schedules, intake documentation, and escalation criteria — that satisfies interdisciplinary care plan standards.
• Analyse the ethical and person-centred dimensions of assisted feeding, including informed decision-making regarding enteral nutrition, in accordance with the resident’s expressed preferences and applicable Georgian clinical ethics guidance.
• Demonstrate correct technique for providing dignified, safe physical assistance with activities of daily living — including feeding, oral hygiene, and positioning — in a manner that preserves residual function and minimises iatrogenic risk.

Who Should Attend

This course is designed for registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and trained care assistants working in residential long-term care, nursing home, or assisted-living settings across Georgia and the broader South Caucasus region. It is equally relevant to facility dietitians, speech and language therapists contributing to interdisciplinary care teams, and clinical managers responsible for implementing and auditing nutritional care protocols. Both newly appointed staff requiring foundational competency and experienced practitioners seeking to align existing practice with current ASF and international standards will benefit from this programme.

Course Structure

This course is delivered entirely online through the GMJ Academy platform, comprising four structured modules with an estimated total study time of 3.5–4 hours, including embedded knowledge checks and a summative case-based assessment requiring a pass mark of 75%. Participants who successfully complete all modules and the final assessment will receive a GMJ Academy Certificate of Completion carrying CPD credits recognised for healthcare professional continuing education in Georgia.