Ritualized practices among caregivers at meals in geriatric care

The aim of this study was to examine the procedures of the caregivers in their daily work with meals in geriatric care, emphasizing ritualized practices, praxis and norms. An ethnographic approach was used. Registered nurses, enrolled nurses and nurse's assistants observed in the study responded to a questionnaire and, finally, were interviewed. The findings indicated that the meals mainly took the form of ritualized practices, and praxis depended on the ability and needs of the patients as well as on the working conditions. The guiding norms identified were 'to provide a home-like situation with fellowship for training purposes', 'to ensure each patient gets what he/she needs/wants by means of a fair method of serving', and 'to keep things in order and to be responsible'. These norms were transferred from the traditional family in the society, giving the caregivers the role of the parent when training patients. The enrolled nurses, responsible for the meal performance, strove to keep the eating milieu in order, and the meal as a whole was performed as a ritual. Its static form made it difficult to individualize the meal in accordance with the different needs of the patients.