EFFECTIVENESS OF PALLIATIVE CARE WORKERS IN PATIENT NUTRITION

Introduction It is important to evaluate the nutrition of patients in palliative care centers. Most patients are not recognized and are undertreated due to lack of consensus on the ways to scan, diagnose, treat and track malnutrition, and lack of adequate awareness and training for health workers. The aim of this study is to evaluate the approaches and awareness of healthcare professionals who provide nutritional support in Palliative Care Centers in Turkey. Methods The 22-question health care assessment questionnaire prepared by the researchers was applied virtually to all health personnel who worked, reached and volunteered with palliative care patients.The data was evaluated using descriptive and analytical statistical methods. Results The average age of 105 health workers participating in our study was 36.4±9.3 (25-59), while 68 (64.8%) were women, 37 (35.2%) were men. 67 (63.8%) experts, 30 (28.6%) assistants and practitioners, 8 (7.6%) nurses were among the participants, most of whom were physicians. The most answer to the question of how many of their patients started feeding products was that I would start 41-60% patients with 38 (36.2%) people.In the question “Do you think you know enough about nutritional products as ingredients?”, 28 people (26.7%) answered yes, 30 people (28.6%) answered no, and 47 (44.8%) answered some of them. Discussion In our study, participants were seen to have a high degree of lack of knowledge and awareness, and differences were observed in patient approaches. Many of the participants need nutritional training and continuity to be aware.