Screening and managing of elderly stroke patients with oropharyngeal dysphagia: a review of literature

Purpose The purpose of this paper was to integrate pieces of evidence on oropharyngeal dysphagia manifestations, complications, assessment, management and the nursing roles with elderly stroke patients having oropharyngeal dysphagia. Design/methodology/approach An integrative review was conducted by searching four main electronic databases: CINAHL, ERIC, PubMed and ScienceDirect. The searches began in December 2023 and ended in February 2024. Findings Twenty studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the final review. The review identified the most common clinical manifestations, complications, assessment, management, nursing role in caring for oropharyngeal dysphagia in elderly stroke patients and interprofessional collaboration in screening and management of dysphagia. Originality/value Oropharyngeal Dysphagia can have devastating consequences for elderly stroke patients. However, dysphagia in stroke is still poorly managed in different settings although the presence of updated methods in the field of dysphagia screening and management. This paper addresses this gap and focuses on the importance of nurses and interprofessional collaboration efforts in screening and managing dysphagia among elderly stroke patients.