Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate and describe how nurses take care of the nutritional needs of elderly patients in somatic hospitals. The goal has been to increase nurses' expertise in the field of nutrition, and I hope that increased attention towards this important area within the nursing profession may improve the quality of nursing care. In the study a descriptive design combined with a quantitative approach is used. In order to collect data a questionnaire was constructed and employed, containing mostly «closed» questions. These questions are analysed using the statistical program SPSS for Windows, version 6.1. The respondents in the study are nurses working in medical wards at two local and two central hospitals in two counties in Norway. The response rate was 72 %. According to the respondents there are daily occurrences of patients who have a reduced state of nutrition at several of the medical wards. It is generally agreed that the expertise of the nurses is of the utmost importance in improving conditions in the field of nutrition, and most of the respondents requested more information about this subject. The results show how the nurses view their own responsibilities concerning nutrition work in the wards. They also reveal the types of intervention taken by nurses for elderly patients to meet their nutritional need, as well as illustrating the degree to which such types of intervention are carried out.
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