© 1990 The Gerontological Society of America
The Use of Nasogastric Feeding Tubes in Nursing Homes: Patient, Family and Health Care Provider Perspectives1
2 Department of Physiological Nursing, School of Nursing, and Medical Anthropological Program, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Medicine, University of California San Francisco
 |
Abstract |
|---|
This anthropological study investigated attitudes of patients, family members, nurses, and physicians toward the use of nasogastric tube feedings in 3 nursing homes. In-depth interviews and participant observation were used to obtain data. Fifty-three percent of the patients, 58% of families, and 70% of the nursing staff approved of the use of tube feedings. Diverse opinions characterized physicians' responses. Findings disclosed inadequate communication among health care providers, patients, and families, and that some families perceive the tubes as being inserted for the convenience of nursing home staff.
Keywords: Nutritional support, Long-term care, Tube-feeding decisions, Withholding and withdrawing fluids and nutrition
1 This research was supported by the National Institute on Aging, grant no. AG05073. I thank Carolyn L. Wiener, Tawn Relihan, Sara Manny Weiss, Mellissa White, and Wendy Roberts for their excellent assistance in the collection of these data. An earlier draft of this paper was presented at the Second International Conference on Health, Law, and Ethics, London, England, 1989. Address correspondence to: jeanie Kayser-jones, PhD, Department of Physiological Nursing, N-611Y, Box 0610, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143.
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  J. Kayser-Jones Malnutrition, Dehydration, and Starvation in the Midst of Plenty: The Political Impact of Qualitative Inquiry Qual Health Res, December 1, 2002; 12(10): 1391 - 1405. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 D. C. Hayley, C. K. Cassel, L. Snyder, and M. A. Rudberg Ethical and Legal Issues in Nursing Home Care Arch Intern Med, February 12, 1996; 156(3): 249 - 256. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. Slomka What Do Apple Pie and Motherhood Have to Do With Feeding Tubes and Caring for the Patient? Arch Intern Med, June 26, 1995; 155(12): 1258 - 1263. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. O. Hodges, S. W. Tolle, C. Stocking, and C. K. Cassel Tube Feeding: Internists' Attitudes Regarding Ethical Obligations Arch Intern Med, May 9, 1994; 154(9): 1013 - 1020. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 P. D. Sloane and P. Rizzolo Gastric Tube Feeding in Elderly Patients Arch Fam Med, September 1, 1993; 2(9): 927 - 928. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. Cogen, B. Patterson, S. Chavin, J. Cogen, L. Landsberg, and J. Posner Surrogate Decision-Maker Preferences for Medical Care of Severely Demented Nursing Home Patients Arch Intern Med, September 1, 1992; 152(9): 1885 - 1888. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|