The INDEED project "INnovative tools for Diets oriented to Education and hEalth improvement in Dysphagia condition", has sought to improve the knowledge and capabilities of people with dysphagia, as well as their close environment. It is estimated that 8% of the population has this symptom, being much more frequent in people with disabilities and/or dependence, but only 20% of this 8% is detected and not always treated. This underdiagnosis and lack of treatment leads to incorrect management of dysphagia, with serious consequences for the health of the person and even death. Hence the importance of providing the affected population with accessible resources adapted to their needs to promote their learning, such as those developed by the INDEED project that addresses the topics: Dysphagia, Ergonomics, care, nutrition and healthy eating. This project has been designed through a strategic partnership between 6 members from 5 different countries, being: a non-profit organization (acting as coordinator and representing 29 organizations providing services to people with all types of disabilities), two universities and a high school, a local public authority and a technology partner. The partners are based in Spain (lead partner), Lithuania, Italy, Turkey and Greece. These entities had professional expertise in the areas of: technical and clinical expertise, innovative adult education, technological support, social inclusion and organizations aimed at implementing the learning tools in nursing homes, hospitals and associations. There was also the collaboration of people with dysphagia and other users of entities of people with disabilities and/or dependence. The main achievement of this project has been to improve the dietary management of oropharyngeal dysphagia by developing innovative learning methods adapted to the level and learning needs of the identified target groups. This has increased the opportunities for these people to acquire training in this area, empowering them in a better management that will have a direct and positive impact on their quality of life, emotional and social well-being. It is estimated that the INDEED project has reached and benefited a total of 935 people, who have participated in some of the activities carried out during its development. The participants in these activities were selected through the local, regional and national networks of the project partners and based on criteria of "equal opportunities and non-discrimination" and promoting the participation of participants with fewer opportunities. The main profiles were: - Users with disabilities and/or dependency, their relatives, caregivers and professionals working in their entities. - Students, teachers and researchers in the area of food and health. - Health and food professionals (doctors, nurses, speech therapists, etc). - Companies in the food and disability sector or special situations. - Others The content developed to enhance this learning was based on a previous study of the needs and interests of the participants. Thus, an open E-learning platform was created and can be accessed through the official project website: https://indeed-project.org/ https://e-trainingcentre.gr/course/index.php?categoryid=32 This contains theoretical information, practical exercises, visual documents and other digital resources generated, allowing: - Improve feeding and nutrition in dysphagia through learning and innovation. -Improve the knowledge on the management of dysphagia in the home and institutional setting. - To update the learning approach on the dietary management of dysphagia. - To promote the social integration of people with dysphagia and their families at national and European level. - To improve the access of the whole society to adult education. -To generate an innovative, international and multidisciplinary network. - To raise public awareness of dysphagia and to draw the attention of national policy makers. The specific results of the Indeed Project have been: - Study and generation of a document that gathered the starting situation in terms of knowledge about dysphagia and adapted textured food in the different partner countries. - Study and generation of a document that collects the profile and needs of the target groups to whom the project results are addressed. - Development of contents following an innovative and accessible methodology addressed to people with dysphagia, their relatives and caregivers using an innovative methodology (IO1). - Development of contents following an innovative and scientific methodology aimed at professionals who support and care for people with dysphagia and their immediate environment (IO2). - Development of documentation on the different activities carried out: results, quality, dissemination, etc. - Generation of a multilingual E-learning platform with all the contents previously generated: theory, practice, videos, infographics, etc. (IO3). - Creation of a web page for the dissemination of the project and access to the E-learning platform. - Involvement of more than 300 people external to the project who have collaborated with the development and other actions of the project. Finally, it should be noted that the INDEED project has promoted the European inclusion of people with dysphagia, has increased their learning possibilities, has created an international European channel of fluid communication between people with dysphagia, their close environment and professionals involved and, in addition, has contributed to harmonize European criteria for the management of dysphagia diets.
The main achievement pursued and accomplished in this project was to improve the dietary management of oropharyngeal dysphagia by developing innovative learning methods adapted to the level and learning needs of the two identified target groups. The content developed to enhance this learning was based on a previous study of the needs and interests of the target groups. Thus, an open E-learning platform was created containing theoretical information, practical exercises, visual documents and other digital resources to attract the user's interest. This material was intended to: - Improve diet and nutrition in dysphagia through learning and innovation. -Improve knowledge about dysphagia management in the home and institutional setting. - To update the learning approach on the dietary management of dysphagia. - To promote the social integration of people with dysphagia and their families at national and European level. - To improve access to adult education for the whole society. -To generate an innovative, international and multidisciplinary network. - To raise public awareness of dysphagia and bring it to the attention of national policy makers.
Dysphagia is an underdiagnosed symptom that is estimated to affect a high percentage of the world's population, around 8%. Certain groups such as people with disabilities and/or advanced age present it more frequently, but it also increases in other situations such as: cerebrovascular accidents, head and neck cancers, congenital disorders and others. All these situations have in common that dysphagia is often underdiagnosed when it occurs, which leads to serious health complications, decreased quality of life and emotional and social worsening of the person who presents it. Therefore, this project was requested with the main objective of improving the knowledge on dietary management and identification of the main signs of oropharyngeal dysphagia, carried out through the training of the adults involved. It has also addressed other related needs such as research on the real situation of dysphagia in the different partner countries, increasing public awareness of this symptom, creating new innovative and accessible learning tools that empower people who wish to learn more about this symptom, and creating an innovative and multidisciplinary international network of work in this field.