People with enteral tubes and their carers' views of living with a tube and managing associated problems: A qualitative interview study

Sue M. Green, Kay Townsend, Nikki Jarrett, Catherine Westoby and Mandy Fader

Journal of Clinical Nursing, 2019, vol. 28, issue 19-20, 3710-3720

Abstract: Background Nutrition by enteral tube is a complex therapy requiring significant management to ensure safe, timely delivery of nutrients and avoidance of complications. In the home setting, people with enteral tubes and their carers are required to self‐manage the therapy, including the need to cope with problems that arise. Whilst previous studies have conveyed experiences of people with enteral tubes, few have described views on enteral tube problems. Aims and objectives Drawing on the findings of a previously reported study (Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, 2019), this paper aims to describe in‐depth the experiences of people with enteral tubes and their carers of living with the tube day to day and managing problems that arise. Design A qualitative descriptive design using semi‐structured in‐depth interviews was employed. Methods A purposive sample of 19 people with enteral tubes and 15 carers of people with tubes participated. Interviews were recorded and transcribed. Using a thematic analysis approach, codes were defined and applied; themes developed and refined. Five themes with associated subthemes were generated, of which one, “living with the tube,” is reported in‐depth. The COREQ checklist was used. Results Participants described the tube affecting both physical and psychosocial being and revealed it had resulted in significant changes to their daily living, necessitating adaptation to a new way of life. Participants reported spending much time and effort to manage tube problems, at times without support from healthcare practitioners knowledgeable in tube management. Discomfort associated with the tube was commonly described. Conclusions Living with an enteral tube impacts significantly on daily life requiring adaptations to normal routine. People with tubes and their carers use a range of strategies to manage common complications. Relevance to clinical practice Knowledge and understanding of how people with enteral tubes live with their tube and manage issues as they arise will enable healthcare practitioners to provide better support.

Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.14972

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wly:jocnur:v:28:y:2019:i:19-20:p:3710-3720

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Journal of Clinical Nursing from John Wiley & Sons
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Wiley Content Delivery ().