If you are someone who suffers from a swallowing disorder, or someone who helps care for someone with a swallowing disorder, you may be familiar with diet modifications.
Diet modifications include altering the texture of foods and thickening the consistency of liquids. Diet modifications are one strategy to increase the safety of swallowing for those with dysphagia.
Whether you are a patient, caregiver, or healthcare professional, you may have realized that there are different terms used to describe modified food textures and liquid consistencies, such as a “mechanical diet” or “honey-thick liquids.” The use of different descriptors can result in confusion surrounding the recommended and appropriate diet, which can pose a serious risk to a patient’s safety.
A multi-disciplinary team of experts has launched the “International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative” (IDDSI), proposing a framework to standardize the terminology and definitions of diet modifications.
This team has created a survey that explains the proposed framework, and is now asking for your feedback. While this survey may be more heavily directed towards healthcare professionals, we feel strongly that patients and their caregivers should have the opportunity weigh in on this matter.
The survey consists of 12 pages and can be completed online. The deadline for survey completion is May 31st. To take the survey, click here: https://surveymanager.com.au/anon/1990.aspx