Abstract
This purpose of this study was to clarify the characteristics of gastrostomy patients receiving home-based care who resumed oral intake and factors related to level of intake. The subjects were 35 medical professionals at 29 home-visit nursing stations providing care to gastrostomy patients receiving home-based care. The method was a visit distribution / collection type questionnaire survey, supplemental data were collected in simple interviews
of approximately 15 minutes. Data were obtained for 45 cases. The characteristics of cases where medical professionals worked to resume oral intake were:（ 1） a severe physical dysfunction but motivation for food and only mild cognitive impairment,（ 2） an association between level of intake and attributes such as eating posture and method, condition on awakening, and state of fever, and （3） attempts to resume oral intake after being prompted by the family or patient. The results of this study suggest that medical professionals try to resume oral intake in gastrostomy patients who possess certain factors related to level of intake.
