Enhancing nutritional care in palliative care units: assessing nurse knowledge and quality perception in enteral nutrition practices.

Background: Adequate, balanced, and individualized nutrition, planned according to the patients' life expectancy in palliative care units, is crucial for maintaining essential functions.
Aim: To determine the knowledge levels of nurses working in palliative care units regarding enteral nutrition practices and their perceptions of nutritional care quality in their units.
Methods: This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in 25 palliative care units located in Izmir, Türkiye, between June and September 2022. The study sample consisted of 205 nurses working in palliative care units. Data were collected using a Personal Information Form, an Enteral Nutrition Practices Knowledge Form, and the Nurses' Perceived Nutrition Care Quality Assessment Scale. The STROBE checklist was also utilized.
Results: The study found that the majority of participating nurses (94.6%) were female, with 78.5% holding bachelor's degrees. The median knowledge score for enteral nutrition: 15 (range: 2-27), perceived care quality score: 36 (range: 9-45). Those with enteral nutrition training had significantly higher knowledge scores (p < .001); palliative care certificate showed no difference (p = .846). Nurses lacking nutrition counseling knowledge had lower perceived care quality scores (p = .001). Monthly tube feeding applications correlated positively with knowledge scores (r = .173, p = .013), unlike professional experience duration (p = .126) and time spent in palliative care (p = .839).
Conclusion: Nurses working in the palliative care unit find the quality of nutrition care provided to patients in their clinics to be sufficient, and the level of knowledge regarding enteral nutrition is at a moderate level. However, in questions related to nursing care such as fluid requirements during enteral nutrition with enteral solutions that affect both nutritional care and medical treatment, maintaining the opening of the jejunostomy tube, and enteral drug administration, correct response rates were low. Low correct response rates on specific issues highlight a need for targeted educational interventions.
Competing Interests: Declerations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Non-Interventional Clinical Studies Ethics Committee of Health Sciences University Tepecik Training and Research Hospital (Approval no. 2022/01–26, Approved date: 17.01.2022) approved the proposal. The study was conducted following the Declaration of Helsinki. The participants were informed of the study’s goal and given the assurance that their nonparticipation or withdrawal would not affect them negatively. The written consent forms were obtained from all participants. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.
(© 2024. The Author(s).)