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Nutritional issues in palliative care.
1Department of Nursing, California State University, Bakersfield 93311-1099, USA.
Seminars in Oncology Nursing
|June 8, 2000
Summary
Nutritional management in palliative care remains controversial, with ongoing debates on ethical and physical aspects of intake. Nurses must individualize care based on current research due to inconclusive evidence on patient suffering.
Area of Science:
- Palliative Care Medicine
- Clinical Nutrition
- Bioethics
Background:
- Nutritional issues are common in palliative care.
- Effective management strategies are crucial for patient comfort and quality of life.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review current knowledge on nutritional problems during palliative care.
- To discuss the management of nutritional intake in this patient population.
Main Methods:
- Systematic literature search across three computerized databases.
- Review of articles from an online nursing journal.
- Inclusion of references from reviewed articles.
Main Results:
- Significant controversies exist regarding nutritional management.
- Physical and ethical considerations complicate decisions about intake.
- Lack of conclusive evidence on patient suffering related to intake cessation.
Conclusions:
- The optimal approach to nutritional management in palliative care is debated.
- Nurses require up-to-date knowledge of research findings.
- Individualized patient assessment is essential for determining appropriate nutritional care.