Premium
Nurses' and Physicians' Attitudes Toward Tube‐Feeding Decisions in Long‐Term Care
Author(s) -
Watts David T.,
Cassel Christine K.,
Hickam David H.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
journal of the american geriatrics society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.992
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 1532-5415
pISSN - 0002-8614
DOI - 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1986.tb05767.x
Subject(s) - medicine , happiness , affect (linguistics) , family medicine , nursing , feeding tube , surgery , social psychology , psychology , communication
We studied attitudes of health professionals toward life‐sustaining treatment. A patient management questionnaire sent to staff physicians and nurses in 183 Oregon nursing homes consisted of eight patient sketches which varied age, mental status, and enjoyment of life. Respondents were asked whether they would favor tube‐feeding to correct malnutrition in each case. Nurses showed higher preferences for tube‐feeding than did physicians (P = .05). For both professions, patient happiness was the strongest and most significant (P < .0001) influence upon preferences for tube‐feeding. Both professions also showed a significant (P < .001) tendency to give younger patients higher preferences for tube‐feeding. Physicians showed a significant (P < .0001) influence of patient mental status upon preferences, while patient mental status did not affect nurses' preferences. Identifiable clinical factors appear to influence attitudes of physicians and nurses toward tube‐feeding decisions.