Knowledge of staff members of residential care facilities for individuals with intellectual disability on medication administration via enteral feeding tube.
Residential staff know less than half of tube-medication safety rules—brief, focused training closes the gap fast.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Libero et al. (2016) gave a short quiz to residential staff who give tube-feeding medicines.
The quiz covered crushing rules, flushing steps, glove use, and other safety points.
All staff worked in homes for adults with intellectual disability.
What they found
Staff scored only 44 % on the quiz.
Fewer than 15 % knew the three most critical items: which pills can be crushed, how much to flush, and when to wear gloves.
The authors label the gap a serious safety risk.
How this fits with other research
Matson et al. (1999) saw the same problem earlier. Their survey of 334 community staff showed most felt unprepared to monitor psychotropic meds.
Wilson et al. (2023) proved training can work. After a two-module course, support workers’ psychotropic knowledge rose sharply.
Kim et al. (2021) added a practical twist: a 2-hour online class boosted palliative-care knowledge and confidence. Together these studies say the gap is old, fixable, and does not need long workshops.
Why it matters
Tube-feeding errors can block the tube or send particles into the lung.
Run a 15-minute huddle this week. Demo crushing, flushing, and glove use.
Use the Jinsook model: short, online, repeatable. Track correct steps for one week. You will cut risk before the next physician visit.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Guidelines for the safe administration of drugs through enteral feeding tube (EFT) are an important tool to minimise the risk of errors. This study aimed to investigate knowledge of these guidelines among staff of residential care facilities (RCF) for people with ID. METHOD: Knowledge was assessed using a 13-item self-administered questionnaire. Questions reflected key aspects of guidelines on medication administration via EFT. All staff members that administer medication through EFT in Belgian RCFs were invited to participate (n = 553). RESULTS: Nine out of 10 RCFs participated, and 356 questionnaires were collected. Almost all participants were women (96%), and most (82%) had a non-nursing educational background. Mean self-perceived knowledge of medication administration via EFT was 6.7 (on a 0-10 scale). On average, 5.7 (SD 1.9) out of 13 questions were answered correctly. A nursing degree and previous education on medication administration via EFT were associated with significantly higher scores. Guideline recommendations regarding rinsing of used medicine cups (90% correct answers) and preparation of hard gelatin capsules (89%) were known best. Those regarding the use of protective equipment when crushing toxic substances (4% correct answers), crushing of sustained release and enteric-coated dosage forms (6%), elevation of the patient's backrest (14%) and flushing of the EFT (15%) were known the least. CONCLUSION: This study identified a substantial lack of knowledge of guidelines for drug administration through EFT among staff of RCFs for people with ID. Our findings call for tailored educational programmes in order to increase knowledge on this subject.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2016 · doi:10.1111/jir.12263