Researcher Profile Detail
Dr. Heather Keller
PhD (Western), RD (Registered Dietitian), FDC (Fellow of Dietitians of Canada)
Professor, Department of Family Relations & Applied Nutrition, University of Guelph Research Scientist, Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Heather Keller's research is primarily focused in the area of older adults. She has three research programs that span community and long-term care sectors. Agri-food for Healthy Aging is focused on the determinants of food intake, especially psychosocial factors, understanding eating behaviour, and demonstrating the importance of nutrition to health and quality of life of older adults. Several projects are underway investigating diet resilience in older adults, factors related to poor appetite, and food enhancement in long term care.
The Nutrition Screening program of research involves nutrition risk screening tools developed for older adults (SCREEN©) and young children (NutriSTEP™). This program of research is focused on development, validation, reliability testing, and refinement of these tools, as well as implementing and evaluating screening programs. Dr. Keller has also been involved in reviewing and adapting other nutrition screening tools. Current projects involve analysis of nutrition risk data in relation to other factors in older adults and process evaluation of screening programs using NutriSTEP™.
The final research program of Dr. Keller's is entitled Nutrition and Dementia. This research program is focused on the psychosocial aspects of mealtimes for older adults living with dementia. The Eating Together study is the primary focus of this research program and is a longitudinal data collection of older adults and their family partners in care with dementia. Qualitative methods are used to understand the experience of mealtime for these families. This research program is expanding to consider mealtime environments for other groups not affected by dementia.
RESEARCH WEBSITE
www.drheatherkeller.com
KEY PUBLICATIONS
Keller, H.H., Gibbs-Ward, A., Randall Simpson, J.A., Bocock, M.A. and Dimou, E. Meal rounds: a simple and effective way to improve the quality of nutrition services. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association. 2006, 7(1), 40-45.
Bowman, J. and Keller, H.H. Assessing nutritional risk of long-term care residents. Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research. 2005, 66(3), 155-161.
Gibbs-Ward, A. and Keller, H.H. Mealtimes as Active Processes in Long-Term Care Facilities. Canadian Journal of Dietetic Research. 2005, 66(1), 5-11.
Keller, H.H., Gibbs, A., Bourdreau, L., Goy, R., Brown, H. and Pattilo, M. Prevention of weight loss in dementia with comprehensive nutritional treatment. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 2003, 51 945-951.
Keller, H.H. and Hirdes, J.P. Using the Minimum Data Set to determine the prevalence of nutrition problems in an Ontario population of chronic care patients. Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research. 2000, 61(4), 165-171.
Keller, H.H. Nutrition problems and their association with patient outcomes in a geriatric rehabilitation setting. Journal of Nutrition for the Elderly. 1997, 17(2), 1-13.
Keller, H.H. Association between functional ability and nutritional status in institutionalized older men: a pilot study. Canadian Journal of Rehabilitation. 1997, 10(3), 193-204.
Keller, H.H. Weight gain impacts morbidity and mortality in institutionalized olderpersons. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 1995, 43, 165-169.
Keller, H.H. Practical guidelines for staff management of undernutrition in a long-term care population. Nursing Home Medicine. 1994, 2(7), 40-49.
Keller, H.H. Malnutrition in institutionalized elderly: how much and why? Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 1993, 41, 1212-1218.
CONTACT INFORMATION
| Email: | hkeller@uoguelph.ca |
| Phone: | 519.824.4120 ext. 52544 |
| Address: | Department of Family Relations & Applied Nutrition |