"Even Drinking Is Difficult"... University Students Step Up to Help Seniors with Swallowing Disorders

Dongseo University Department of Occupational Therapy Selected for Win-Win Cooperation Support Project

Launch of Community-Based Elderly Dysphagia Care Project Team

Are you familiar with geriatric dysphagia?

Even soft foods are difficult to swallow. Water does not pass easily through the esophagus. This is a representative age-related disease caused by an aging population, known as dysphagia. While it can result from complications of stroke, it usually occurs due to sarcopenia, which leads to atrophy and weakening of the swallowing muscles.

This disease has become a social issue, affecting one out of every three elderly individuals either directly or indirectly. Therefore, it is important to raise public awareness and provide community programs and specialized services for this condition.

The Dongseo University (President Jang Jeguk) Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation has been selected for the Busan Technopark Community Win-Win Cooperation Project and has launched a community dysphagia care team under the slogan "Tear, Chew, Taste, and Share the Flavor and Joy of Life with Seniors in Busan."

This team will conduct early screening for borderline or high-risk elderly individuals with dysphagia living in Sasang-gu and provide customized rehabilitation programs according to their symptoms.

Additionally, the team will offer integrated services and programs, including precise diagnosis through collaboration with local medical institutions, essential nutritional support and dietary adjustment programs for dysphagia care, and connection to community resources that can be utilized in the region.

The Community Win-Win Cooperation Support Project is supported by Busan Metropolitan City and Busan Technopark, with Dongseo University’s Department of Occupational Therapy as the lead institution. Consortium partners include Sasang-gu Office’s Department of Welfare for the Elderly and Disabled, Sasang-gu Senior Welfare Center, Inje University Busan Paik Hospital’s Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, and G-Tech Solution Co., Ltd. The project will be conducted from May to November at the Sasang-gu Senior Welfare Center together with students from Dongseo University’s Department of Occupational Therapy.

To ensure the success of this project, Maeil Dairies Co., Ltd. plans to provide free protein health drinks that may help with sarcopenia for elderly community members with dysphagia.

Professor Yoon Taehyung (Department of Occupational Therapy) at Dongseo University stated, "We plan to collaborate with local hospitals, welfare centers, and companies so that seniors in the community can enjoy a happy life where they can tear, chew, and taste food. We also plan to conduct joint research with professors from REIWA Health Sciences University in Japan."