Estrategias de estimulación sensorial para preservar el gusto y olfato en adultos mayores

Abstract

Due to the increase of the aging population and the low birth rate, we propose the realization of this development project, which is based on applying strategies of sensory stimulation, taste and smell in older adults of the Autonomous Decentralized Parochial Government of Atahualpa, belonging to the Canton Ambato, with the main objective of preserving the sensory functionality, due to the passing of the years modifies the ability of perception of the senses chemo-sensory and they are decreasing. Therefore the importance of the evaluation of the senses of smell and taste, through the initial and final evaluation with the application of the Sniffin' Sticks test (smell) and the drop test (taste), and the application of sensory stimulation strategies to preserve the intervened senses, it is vital to identify the cognitive capacity for this reason it was essential to apply the modified Mini Mental Test (MMSE), to know who are or are not suitable, considering the presence of any deficit, with the results obtained we proceeded to select the participants of the intervention. When comparing the initial and final evaluations of the stimulated senses, it was found that: taste increased from 3.2% to 29%, that is, over ninety percent in the four main tastes evaluated; in smell, the increase of 54.9% of participants with normal smell stands out significantly, as well as the reduction of 29.1% of individuals who presented anosmia, despite the fact that anosmia prevailed in the minimum amount of 3.2%. We showed that the application of sensory stimulation strategies for taste and smell are beneficial and provide positive results, if they are carried out for 12 weeks, every day, and when this is achieved, improvement can be achieved, as in this case shown by the participants who benefited from the intervention, with a bilateral significance in the sense of smell of 0.000, salty taste 0.023 and for bitter taste 0.017 according to the verification made with the statistical test T Student for related samples with value P<0.05, so the use of the strategies is recommended, in people who require or present alterations in these senses.