title: Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy placement: caregiver decision making in Taiwan.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore Taiwanese caregivers' decision making experiences of accepting a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube for their family member.
  
  
  METHODS
  A phenomenological approach was used for the interview and analysis. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 26 caregivers of patients who had percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube in southern Taiwan.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Five themes were recognized to reflect caregivers' decision making experiences with a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy: awareness of suffering, awareness of options, uncertainty, opportunity, and contentment with the decision.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Caregivers' decisions to proceed with a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy procedure were mediated by desires to relieve patients' suffering. To empower caregivers to make enteral feeding decisions, nurses must provide sufficient information about percutaneous gastrostomy tubes and their care, support decision making and help to identify an opportunity for gastrostomy tube placement.
authors: Department of Nursing, Institute of Allied Health Sciences, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan, ROC.
authors: Lily
authors: L
authors: Yeh
authors: Susan J
authors: SJ
authors: Fetzer
authors: Shu-Yin
authors: SY
authors: Chen
authors: Feng-Hwa
authors: FH
authors: Lu
authors: Chiao-Hsiung
authors: CH
authors: Chuang
authors: Ching-Huey
authors: CH
authors: Chen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D005773:Gastroscopy; D005774:Gastrostomy / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged