Staff attitude and experience in dealing with rational nursing home patients who refuse to eat and drink

This paper describes the personal attitudes of nursing home staff and their experience of coping with rational nursing home patients who refused to eat and drink. Professional caregivers in 13 nursing homes and nursing home units in the county of Stockholm, Sweden, were asked to judge an ethical conflict involving a situation in which a patient of sound mind refused to eat and drink. Two questions were raised: (a) What would your unit's decision be in this case? (b) What is your personal opinion in this case? Answers to question (a) showed that 20% believed that the patient's autonomy would be respected, i.e. the patient would be allowed to die without medical intervention. Concerning question (b), the results showed that approximately 50% believed that the patient's wishes regarding food refusal must be respected. Furthermore, the results suggested that both professional category and number of years' service made a difference to the staff views on patient autonomy. Finally, the findings indicated that the nursing homes included in the study did not show any distinct policy with regard to the autonomy of elderly nursing home patients in refusing to eat and drink.