Nutrition In Palliative Care Research Articles

Nutrition in palliative care

Nutrition in palliative care and at the end of life should be one of the goals for improving quality of life. It is important to address issues of food and feeding at this time to assist in the management of troublesome symptoms as well as to enhance the remaining life. While this paper focuses upon the nutritional aspects of cancer in palliative care, the sentiments are applicable to other serious chronic illnesses such as advanced cardiac failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and dementia. Cancer and its treatments exert a major impact upon physical and psychological reserves and at the end of life problems with appetite and the ability to eat and drink compound such impact. The aims of nutritional care minimize food-related discomfort and maximize food enjoyment. Identification of any nutritional problems can facilitate the employment of strategies which need to be discussed with the patient and their families and reviewed regularly as conditions change. Ethical questions will be raised concerning the provision of food and fluids to a person nearing the end of their life. Nurses need to acknowledge that food has greater significance than the provision of nutrients.

Food and nutrition in palliative care: a survey done by the Food and Nutrition Group at Help the Hospices

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Nutrition in palliative care: online information and resources

Following revelations that almost 40% of hospital patients are at risk of malnutrition and the total annual cost to the country of treating this condition is over £7 billion, recent guidelines from the UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) suggest that all hospital patients should be routinely screened for malnutrition and offered specialist support. Patients with cancer may be at an increased risk because of the peculiarities of the disease process, and suffer additional serious effects such as reduced response to treatments. It has also been estimated that 20% of all cancer deaths could be attributed to malnourishment. This month’s Web Words looks at aspects of nutritional assessment and how this feature of care could be enhanced.

Nutrition in palliative care–does it matter?

October 7 is second annual World Hospice and Palliative Care day, the theme of which is access of care to all – highlighting the fact that everyone has a right to high quality end of life care but that more needs to be done to enable everyone to access it. Statistics released for the occasion reveal that across the world more than ten million people are diagnosed with cancer each year and there are six million deaths annually. Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a supporter of the world day, writes that it is wrong for a person to face great physical and emotional suffering without any support.