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Dysphagia among Social-bound Older Person in Community,
Chiang Mai Province, Thailand

J. Wongsuwan, W. Tuanrat, D. Tamdee, and S. Aungwattana 1
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Faculty of Nursing, Chiang Mai University, Thailand
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Background: In social-bound older people often encounter problems with swallowing and choking,
leading to asphyxia, respiratory tract infections, and sudden death caused by dysphagia. Risk factors
of dysphagia include increasing age, comorbidity, etc. In Thailand, the situation of dysphagia among
social-bound older people who are otherwise healthy remain limited. Furthermore, dysphagia
interventions have been restricted in dysphagia and post-stroke patients. Therefore, dysphagia
management among social-bound older people is still insufficient.

Objective: To study the situation of dysphagia among Thai social-bound older people in the community.

Methods: This study was a cross-sectional study. The sample size was estimated using a simple formula
by Cochran(1977), including 132 social-bound older people in two-subdistricts of Saraphi, Chiang Mai. The
sample underwent interviewing for demographic data and swallowing problems using a 10-item Eating
Assessment Tool (EAT-10) questionnaire. The EAT-10 had an internal consistency of 0.96. Data were analyzed
using descriptive statistics, including percentages, means, and medians, etc.

Results: 76% of the participants were females, with mean age of 66.23 years (SD=5.034). Among the
participants, 10.61% encountered swallowing issues (the EAT-10 score ≥ 3), typically detected between
the ages of 60 and 79; the majority were female (78.57%), and 71.43% had an underlying disease;
42.86% had hypertension; 28.57% had diabetes mellitus; and 14.29% had dyslipidemia. Furthermore, all
of the older people (100%) had not undergone an initial assessment of the swallowing ability and had
not received information for prevention and maintaining their swallowing ability.

Conclusion: Thai social-bound older people in community are experiencing dysphagia. The dysphagia
situation will be beneficial for healthcare professionals, highlighting the urgent need for improved
preventive dysphagia management strategies that include promoting initial dysphagia assessments
and dysphagia preventive behaviors to maintain efficient and safe swallowing in Thai social-bound older
people as long as possible.

Keywords: community, dysphagia, social-bound, older person

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Correspondence: Jiranan Wongsuwan, Faculty of Nursing, Chiang Mai University, Thailand
Poster Presentation Abstracts
E-mail: jiranan.wong@cmu.ac.th

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