Communication between the multidisciplinary team and families regarding nutrition and hydration for people with severe dementia in acute hospitals: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND: When a person with severe dementia is in hospital and has eating and drinking difficulties, communication between the multidisciplinary team and families can be challenging and lead to suboptimal care. OBJECTIVE: To gain in-depth understanding about the experiences, views and needs of family carers and hospital staff, regarding communication and conversations about nutrition and hydration, for hospital patients with severe dementia. DESIGN: Qualitative semi-structured interview study. SETTING: Acute hospital in England. METHODS: From January to May 2021, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 29 family carers and hospital staff. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using reflexive thematic methods. RESULTS: Four overarching themes were developed: (i) prerequisites to initiating communication about eating and drinking; (ii) communication aiming to develop agreed care plans; (iii) difficulty discussing palliative and end-of-life care; and (iv) needs of information and plans about future eating and drinking difficulties. Families tended to wait for hospital staff to initiate discussions but usually experienced frustration with delays and repeated conversations with different staff. Some staff felt unprepared to manage these conversations and found it challenging to work across the multidisciplinary team. During discharge processes, key information and care plans about eating and drinking were not regularly passed on to people involved to avoid unnecessary readmissions. CONCLUSIONS: In acute hospitals, family carers and hospital staff can have disjointed communications and conversations about nutrition and hydration for persons with severe dementia. Timely reassurance, ongoing discussions and clear information sharing will support communication between those involved.