Sammanfattning
The article addresses undernutrition as perceived by inpatients receiving nutritional nursing
care. The article likewise reports on patients’ responses to being pressured and urged to eat in spite
of lack of appetite. This is evinced by secondary empiricism drawn from a systematic review method.
The findings identify three topics: being pressured to eat; underprioritisation of nutrition; and changes
in meal significance during hospitalisation and illness. Kari Martinsen’s concept of "weak
paternalism" and Immanuel Kant’s "duty-based ethics" are included in the study’s discussion on
pressure and encouragement to eat, and where the limits lie. The conclusion is that there are many
reasons for undernutrition, and that patients report two conflicting approaches; that nursing staff
either pressure the patient too much, or that undernutrition is underprioritised. This points to the
importance of revising practices in order to ensure, for example, quiet at mealtimes so as to achieve
greater focus on the importance of nutrition and the patient’s needs.