Determination of barriers to providing enteral nutrition in surgical intensive care units: A prospective study for intensive care nurses

The study was conducted as prospective descriptive research with the aim of determining the barriers to enteral nutrition in adult surgical intensive care units. The study was carried out Yunus Emre State Hospital between 25 February 2023 and 25 June 2023. The study sample consisted of 180 nurses working in the adult surgical intensive care units of Yunus Emre State Hospital in Eskişehir. A total of 149 nurses working in surgical intensive care units were included in the study. "Introductory Information Questionnaire for Intensive Care Nurses" and "Revised Questionnaire to Assess Barriers to Adequate Nutrition in The Critically Ill" were used to collect data. The questionnaires were completed through face-to-face interviews with nurses. In the analysis of the data, descriptive statistics (number, percentage, median, mean, and standard deviation) were employed. For evaluating differences between means, t-test or one-way analysis of variance test were used for variables showing normal distribution, while Mann-Whitney U or Kruskal-Wallis tests were used for variables not showing normal distribution. The study revealed that the obstacles perceived for the provision of enteral nutrition in surgical intensive care units are limited, while partially perceived barriers are significantly high. As a result of the study, among the identified barriers to providing enteral nutrition, the foremost issue was the absence or inadequacy of dietitians in the evenings, weekends, and holidays (56.4%). The second-ranked barrier was the cessation of nutrition due to diarrhea (34.2%). The use of guidelines providing strong evidence and recommendations in the maintenance and management of enteral nutrition in surgical intensive care units is recommended. Strategies and institutional policies are recommended to be developed for preventing obstacles to the provision of enteral nutrition in surgical intensive care units.