Abstract
A 20 question opinion survey was used to elicit attitudes/beliefs of employees regarding spoon feeding, tube feeding, withholding/withdrawing nutrition; level of staff preparation/need for training; and other related issues. Respondents were 318 employees of a Department of Mental Health's long-term care facility. The majority of respondents were under 40 years of age, members of the Southern Baptist religion and held nursing assistant positions. Most staff were comfortable feeding patients, even those with swallowing problems. If allowed adequate time, staff preferred spoon over tube feeding. Staff were split over the ethical dilemmas of withholding/withdrawing nutrition. These findings are important to consider when developing strategies to appropriately train and support staff concerning this difficult issue.
Published Version
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