P951 - OPTIMIZING ENTERAL NUTRITION TIMING IN REHABILITATION PATIENTS: EFFECTS ON GI TOLERANCE AND PROVIDER SATISFACTION

P951

OPTIMIZING ENTERAL NUTRITION TIMING IN REHABILITATION PATIENTS: EFFECTS ON GI TOLERANCE AND PROVIDER SATISFACTION

J. E. Song^1,*, S. H. Park¹, S. H. Kim², J. H. Hwang¹, M. H. Kim³, K. A. Kim¹

¹Department of Nursing, ²Nutrition Care Services, ³Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Korea, Republic Of

Rationale: In a tertiary hospital, patients requiring enteral nutrition received rehabilitation 1–4 times daily (avg. 2.1/day, n=122). Lack of coordination between enteral feeding and rehabilitation often led to gastrointestinal (GI) issues such as vomiting, diarrhea, and aspiration during therapy. To address this, a multidisciplinary team developed a protocol to synchronize feeding and therapy schedules, and provided targeted education to healthcare staff to ensure effective implementation.

Methods: A multidisciplinary team consisting of nurses, dietitians, and rehabilitation therapists collaborated to identify existing challenges and develop a coordinated care protocol. Key outcome measures included the incidence of GI intolerance symptoms, adequacy of enteral nutrition delivery, and healthcare provider satisfaction. Data were collected before and after implementation. Statistical analyses included mean, standard deviation, chi-square tests, and paired t-tests.

Results: After protocol implementation, the proportion of patients receiving rehabilitation during enteral feeding decreased from 20.1% to 10.9%. GI intolerance also declined from 57.4% to 47.8%. Healthcare provider satisfaction (n=40) significantly improved, with overall scores increasing from 2.8 ± 0.39 to 3.9 ± 0.84 (t=–7.18, p<.001). Among satisfaction items, perceived occupational usefulness showed the greatest improvement, from 2.6 ± 0.89 to 4.1 ± 0.87 (t=–7.20, p<.001).

Conclusion: Implementing a coordinated protocol for enteral feeding and rehabilitation schedules improved patient safety by reducing GI symptoms and enhanced healthcare provider satisfaction. This study highlights the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in optimizing care for patients receiving enteral nutrition during rehabilitation. Further studies with larger samples are recommended to confirm these findings..

Disclosure of Interest: None declared