THE IMPORTANCE OF LIFE ACTIVITY- EATING AND DRINKING IN THE PROCESS OF ONCOLOGY NURSING

Prehranjevanje in pitje je življenjska aktivnost, ki je nujno potrebna za človekovo preživetje. V obdobju odraslega človeka vnos hrane in tekočine omogoča regeneracijo celic, sintezo hormonov in encimov, tvorbo energije in protiteles in splošno dobro počutje. Kadar pa človek zboli se lahko pojavijo spremembe v aktivnosti, ki motijo normalno prehranjenost, ogrožajo zdravljenje in znižujejo kakovost življenja. Posebno je to pomembno za onkološke bolnike, pri katerih je potrebno postaviti zadovoljevanje potreb po hrani in tekočini v ospredje zdravljenja in zdravstvene nege, saj z urejeno prehrano vzdržujemo prehranjenost telesa in telesno kondicijo ter podpiramo osnovno zdravljenje. Namen diplomskega dela je predstaviti pomen življenjske aktivnosti – hranjenje in pitje pri onkološkem bolniku, prikazati vlogo medicinske sestre pri prehranski podpori bolniku in reševanju prehranskih zapletov in predlagati morebitne izboljšave za klinično okolje onkološke zdravstvene nege. V prvem delu diplomske naloge opisujemo nastanek rakavega obolenja ter njegov razvoj, zdravljenje in obvladovanje stranskih učinkov. Podrobneje opisujemo pomembnost ter vrsto prehrane, režim prehrane in način prehranjevanja onkoloških bolnikov. Osredotočili smo se tudi na vlogo medicinske sestre pri prehranski podpori onkološkega bolnika. V drugem delu diplomske naloge pa smo se osredotočili na procesno metodo dela življenjske aktivnosti hranjenje in pitje pri onkološkemu bolniku, s poudarkom na ugotavljanju potreb, načrtovanju, izvajanju, vrednotenju in dokumentiranju. Predstavili smo tudi preventivne aktivnosti, predvsem ukrepe za lajšanje težav s prehranjevanjem. Ugotovili smo, da življenjska aktivnost hranjenje in pitje podpira različne načine zdravljenja, saj je hrana prilagojena bolnikovim potrebam in možnim stranskim učinkom, da ima medicinska sestra pomembno vlogo pri prehranski podpori onkoloških bolnikov ter pri reševanju njihovih aktualnih in potencialnih negovalnih diagnoz in da je prednost procesne metode dela pri življenjski aktivnosti hranjenje in pitje predvsem v celovitosti in individualnosti obravnave vsakega bolnika in v zgodnjem prepoznavanju in reševanju negovalnih diagnoz. Glede na ugotovitve smo podali naslednje predloge za klinično okolje onkološke zdravstvene nege: pripravo zdravstveno vzgojnih materialov za osveščanje onkoloških bolnikov o pomembnosti prehrane ter zgodnje prepoznavanje in reševanje zapletov v procesu onkološkega zdravljenja, izobraževanje medicinskih sester s področja klinične dietetike in njihovo vključevanje v individualno prehransko obravnavo vsakega bolnika s poudarkom na bolnikovi aktivni vlogi ter kontinuirano spremljanje prehranskega stanja bolnika v vseh fazah zdravljenja v med institucionalni obravnavi.Eating and drinking is life activity, which is essential for human survival. During adulthood, intake of food and fluids enables cells regeneration, synthesis of hormones and enzymes, formation of antibodies and energy, and general well-being. When a human falls ill, changes in activity can occur and interfere with normal nutrition, risk treatment and reduce quality of life. This is particularly important for cancer patients, whose needs for food and fluid should be put at the forefront of medical care, as with regulated diet one maintains nutrition and physical fitness of one’s body and therefore supports basic treatment. Purpose of this study is to present the importance of life activity eating and drinking for the oncology patientto demonstrate the role of nurses in patient’s nutritional support and solving nutritional complicationsand to suggest possible improvements for the clinical environment of oncology nursing. In the first part of the paper, the formation of cancer and its development, treatment and management of side effects, is described. Furthermore, the importance and the type of diet, diet regime and diet possibilities for cancer patients are described in detail. We focused on the role of nurses in nutritional support for oncology patients. In the second part of the thesis, we focus on the process work method of life activity eating and drinking with cancer patients, and emphasized the identification of needs, planning, implementation, evaluation and documentation. We also presented the preventive activities in particular measures to alleviate the difficulties with eating. We discovered that life activity eating and drinking supports a variety of treatments, because the food is tailored to the patient\u27s needs and potential side effectsthat the nurse has an important role in the nutritional support of cancer patients, as well as in solving their current and potential nursing diagnosesand that the advantage of process methods in life activity eating and drinking is especially recognized in the integrity and individuality of each patient\u27s treatment and in early detection and resolution of nursing diagnoses. According to the findings, we made the following suggestions for the clinical environment of oncology nursing: preparation of health educational materials to sensitize cancer patients about the importance of nutrition, early identification and salvation of problems in the process of oncology treatmenteducation of nurses in the field of clinical dietetics and their integration in individual dietary treatment of each patient with an emphasis on the patient\u27s active roleand continuous monitoring of the nutritional status of the patient at all stages of treatment in the institutional care