What is it about?
Home enteral feeding is invaluable in enabling patients who are unable to maintain sufficient oral intake to meet their nutrition and hydration requirements. Though recipients value its role in supporting life and reducing anxiety around eating and drinking, significant effects on the lives of patients and their caregivers have been described. This article discusses the physical, social and psychological impacts that home enteral feeding has on the quality of life of patients and their caregivers and suggests practical strategies that can allow patients to live as full a life as possible. Psychological support from tube placement onwards, regular review and monitoring are essential in minimising the burdens associated with home enteral feeding.
Featured Image
Why is it important?
This article draws on the author's practical experience in supporting patient receiving home enteral feeding, and discusses the factors affecting quality of life with reference to relevant literature.
Perspectives
Optimising patients' quality of life is at the heart of my practice. Writing this article gave me the opportunity to review the factors that affect the quality of life of those receiving enteral feeding at home; and disseminate my findings to a wider audience
Teresa Day
North West London Healthcare
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Home enteral feeding and its impact on quality of life, British Journal of Community Nursing, July 2017, Mark Allen Group,
DOI: 10.12968/bjcn.2017.22.sup7.s14.
You can read the full text:
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
