Meals in Nursing Homes: An Ethical Appraisal.

The ethical approach of artificial administration of food and fluids has been much enlivened in recent years. Nevertheless, the ethical implications of the day-to-day event of serving meals in nursing homes remain to be clarified. This paper has a double aim. First, I present a philosophical-ethical clarification of mealtime care in nursing homes. Second, I suggest several ethical orientations related to the nutritional problem among nursing home residents. I argue that caregivers must not only have considerable knowledge and skill in nutritional matters; it is only by integrating as much as possible an attitude of caring with the competent performance of care activities that 'good mealtime care' can be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]