Constituent Elements of Positioning Training Program for Nurses Assisting Patients during Eating

Abstract

Objective:　The aims of this study were to identify the constituent elements of training for positioning during eating and to develop a training program.　Methods:　The study participants were six certified dysphagia nurses. The study was carried out between by means of focus group interviews. The interview questions concerned the state of patients with dysphagia and positioning training. Analysis was performed by extracting important categories. The study period was between February and December, 2014.　Results and Discussion:　Many patients suffer from bad posture, and must be positioned correctly to prevent aspiration. There were positive and negative factors in patient positioning by nurses, as follows: a caring mind, team care, risk management, lack of observation, inappropriate skills, and a busy work environment. Feasible education methods were: learning from the basics, experiential learning, coaching, and skill assessment. The benefits of positioning from a nurse’s perspective were: skill improvement, operational improvement, offer hope in nursing care, and mutual growth. The benefits of positioning from the patient’s perspective were: Pleasure of eating, aspiration prevention, and self-feeding. The extracted categories were consolidated into an education that conveys the pleasure of eating through positioning. In this result, the category related to positioning training was chosen to construct a conceptual diagram. The deepening of positioning technology thinks that nurses and patients can share‘Pleasure of eating’.