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Barriers to nutritional care for the undernourished hospitalised elderly: perspectives of nurses

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  • Helene Dahl Eide
  • Kristin Halvorsen
  • Kari Almendingen

Abstract

Aims and objectives To identify what nurses experience as barriers to ensuring adequate nutritional care for the undernourished hospitalized elderly. Background Undernutrition occurs frequently among the hospitalised elderly and can result in a variety of negative consequences if not treated. Nevertheless, undernutrition is often unrecognised and undertreated. Nurses have a great responsibility for nutritional care, as this is part of the patient's basic needs. Exploring nurses' experiences of preventing and treating undernourishment among older patients in hospitals is therefore highly relevant. Design A focus group study was employed based on a hermeneutic phenomenological methodological approach. Methods Four focus group interviews with totally 16 nurses working in one large university hospital in Norway were conducted in spring 2012. The nurses were recruited from seven somatic wards, all with a high proportion of older (≥70 years) inpatients. The data were analysed in the three interpretative contexts: self‐understanding, a critical common‐sense understanding and a theoretical understanding. Results We identified five themes that reflect barriers the nurses experience in relation to ensuring adequate nutritional care for the undernourished elderly: loneliness in nutritional care, a need for competence in nutritional care, low flexibility in food service practices, system failure in nutritional care and nutritional care is being ignored. Conclusions The results imply that nutritional care at the university hospital has its limits within the hospital structure and organisation, but also regarding the nurses' competence. Moreover, the barriers revealed that the undernourished elderly are not identified and treated properly as stipulated in the recommendations in the national guidelines on the prevention and treatment of undernutrition. Relevance to clinical practice The barriers revealed in this study are valuable when considering improvements to nutritional care practices on hospital wards to enable undernourished older inpatients to be identified and treated properly.

Suggested Citation

  • Helene Dahl Eide & Kristin Halvorsen & Kari Almendingen, 2015. "Barriers to nutritional care for the undernourished hospitalised elderly: perspectives of nurses," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(5-6), pages 696-706, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:jocnur:v:24:y:2015:i:5-6:p:696-706
    DOI: 10.1111/jocn.12562
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    Cited by:

    1. Pia Søe Jensen & Sue M Green & Janne Petersen & Ove Andersen & Ingrid Poulsen, 2018. "Perceptions and experiences of nutritional care following the overwhelming experience of lower extremity amputation: A qualitative study," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(5-6), pages 808-819, March.
    2. Malene Barfod O′Connell & Pia Søe Jensen & Signe Lindgård Andersen & Cecilia Fernbrant & Vibeke Nørholm & Helle Vendel Petersen, 2018. "Stuck in tradition‐A qualitative study on barriers for implementation of evidence‐based nutritional care perceived by nursing staff," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(3-4), pages 705-714, February.
    3. Helene Kjøllesdal Eide & Jūratė Šaltytė Benth & Kjersti Sortland & Kristin Halvorsen & Kari Almendingen, 2016. "Are Nutritional Care Adequate for Elderly Hospitalized Patients? A Cross-Sectional Study," SAGE Open, , vol. 6(4), pages 21582440166, December.
    4. Ella Ottrey & Claire Palermo & Catherine E. Huggins & Judi Porter, 2018. "Exploring staff perceptions and experiences of volunteers and visitors on the hospital ward at mealtimes using an ethnographic approach," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(7-8), pages 1571-1579, April.
    5. Kjersti Sortland & Kristin Halvorsen & Jūratė Šaltytė Benth & Kari Almendingen, 2020. "Involving nursing students into clinical research projects: Reliability of data and experiences of students?," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(19-20), pages 3860-3869, October.

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