Long-term gastrostomy in children: insights from expert nurses

Beyond its technical implications, long-term gastrostomy in children represents a multifaceted social and psychological challenge to families caring for medically complex children at home. In the context of a study of gastrostomy devices in children, the authors interviewed nurses nominated as experts in the care of such children and families. In this article, a secondary analysis of themes arising from those interviews reveals the considerable clinical practice knowledge involved in managing and coordinating this care. The insights from these expert nurses reveal strategies and approaches that have not been systematically reported in the literature on nursing roles in relation to gastrostomy. By documenting and reporting such insights, the authors hope to make accessible the reasoning that these experts have developed through experience, innovation, and education, and thereby to encourage nurses caring for families with such children to broaden and extend the scope of their traditional practice roles.