Outline the three-tier approach to dysphagia management: prevention, compensation, and rehabilitation.

• A. Prevention is the only aspect; compensation and rehabilitation are not used.
• B. Prevention aims to protect swallow health; compensation uses strategies to swallow safely despite impairment; rehabilitation focuses on restoring swallow function through targeted exercise and therapy.
• C. Compensation substitutes the swallow entirely with alternative feeding.
• D. Rehabilitation is the first line; prevention and compensation are optional.

Answer: (B)

The main idea is that dysphagia management uses three interconnected levels to support safe swallowing: preventing problems, compensating for impaired swallow to keep swallowing safe, and restoring function through targeted therapy. Prevention focuses on protecting swallow health and reducing risk factors so problems don’t develop or worsen. Compensation involves practical strategies that allow someone to swallow more safely even when impairment is present, such as modifying how we swallow or the texture of the food and fluids. Rehabilitation aims to regain as much swallow function as possible through exercises and therapy that target the underlying muscles and timing of the swallow.

This description matches how the three-tier approach is used in practice: prevention as the first line to keep swallowing healthy, compensation to maintain safety during meals when impairment exists, and rehabilitation to improve the physiology of swallowing whenever possible. The other options misunderstand this balance—one reduces the model to prevention alone, another suggests compensatory strategies replace swallowing entirely, and another places rehabilitation as the first step while treating prevention and compensation as optional.