Experiences of food and mealtime from the perspective of patients with chronic life‐limiting disease: A mixed‐method systematic review

Abstract

Aim To describe and synthesise experiences of food and mealtimes from the perspective of patients with chronic life-limiting disease. Design A mixed-method systematic review. Data Sources The databases Academic Search Complete, CINAHL, Nursing and Allied Health Database, PsycINFO, PubMed, Soc Index and Web of Science Core Collection were searched (January 2000 to March 2019). Review Methods Out of 3151 identified articles, 24 were included for appraisal and synthesis, using a data based convergent design. Results Four themes were derived: ‘understanding hampered eating—perhaps it is best to let nature run its course’; ‘food and meals evoke distress—reducing joy, testing interim ways’; ‘struggling with food and meals—eating to please others and to postpone death’; and ‘food and meals as caring and love—flanked by social disconnecting’. Conclusion For patients with chronic life-limiting disease, food entailed potential to remain healthy, improve well-being and prolong life. Meanwhile, eating difficulties were experienced as fundamentally affecting social life and interactions; consequently, joy around food and meals was lost.