Experiences of food and mealtime from the perspective of patients with chronic life‐limiting disease: A mixed‐method systematic review.

Aim: To describe and synthesise experiences of food and mealtimes from the perspective of patients with chronic life‐limiting disease. Design: A mixed‐method systematic review. Data Sources: The databases Academic Search Complete, CINAHL, Nursing and Allied Health Database, PsycINFO, PubMed, Soc Index and Web of Science Core Collection were searched (January 2000 to March 2019). Review Methods: Out of 3151 identified articles, 24 were included for appraisal and synthesis, using a data based convergent design. Results: Four themes were derived: 'understanding hampered eating—perhaps it is best to let nature run its course'; 'food and meals evoke distress—reducing joy, testing interim ways'; 'struggling with food and meals—eating to please others and to postpone death'; and 'food and meals as caring and love—flanked by social disconnecting'. Conclusion: For patients with chronic life‐limiting disease, food entailed potential to remain healthy, improve well‐being and prolong life. Meanwhile, eating difficulties were experienced as fundamentally affecting social life and interactions; consequently, joy around food and meals was lost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]