Clinical nutrition and human rights. An international position paper

Diana Cardenas; Maria Isabel Toulson Davisson Correia; Juan B Ochoa; Gil Hardy; Dolores Rodriguez-Ventimilla; Charles E Bermúdez; Karin Papapietro; Régis Hankard; André Briend; Winai Ungpinitpong; Katerina Mary Zakka; Teresa Pounds; Cristina Cuerda; Rocco Barazzoni

doi:10.1016/j.clnu.2021.02.039

Clinical nutrition and human rights. An international position paper

Clin Nutr. 2021 Jun;40(6):4029-4036. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2021.02.039. Epub 2021 May 19.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Medicine, Research Institute on Nutrition, Genetics and Metabolism, El Bosque University, Bogotá, Colombia. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Surgical Department, Medical School, Universidade Federal de Medicina, Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Electronic address: [email protected].
³ Department of Surgery, Ochsner Medical Center-New Orleans, New Orleans, LA, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁴ Ipanema Research Trust, Auckland, New Zealand. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁵ Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics Service, Instituto Oncológico Nacional- SOLCA, Guayaquil, Ecuador. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁶ Surgery and Nutrition Department, Clínica La Colina and Clínica Del Country, Bogota, Colombia. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁷ Nutrition Unit, Hospital Clínico de La Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁸ Nutrition Mobile Unit, CHU Tours, Université de Tours, European Institute for History and Culture of Food, University of Tours, France. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁹ Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark and Center for Child Health Research, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland. Electronic address: [email protected].
¹⁰ Surgery Department, Surin Hospital, Thailand.
¹¹ Department of Internal Medicine, Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center, Atlanta, GA, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
¹² Department of Pharmacy, Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center, Atlanta, GA, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
¹³ Nutrition Unit, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: [email protected].
¹⁴ Department of Medical, Technological and Translational Sciences, University of Trieste, Ospedale di Cattinara, Trieste, Italy. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 34023070
DOI: 10.1016/j.clnu.2021.02.039

Abstract

The International Working Group for Patients' Right to Nutritional Care presents its position paper regarding nutritional care as a human right intrinsically linked to the right to food and the right to health. All people should have access to food and evidence-based medical nutrition therapy including artificial nutrition and hydration. In this regard, the hospitalized malnourished ill should mandatorily have access to screening, diagnosis, nutritional assessment, with optimal and timely nutritional therapy in order to overcome malnutrition associated morbidity and mortality, while reducing the rates of disease-related malnutrition. This right does not imply there is an obligation to feed all patients at any stage of life and at any cost. On the contrary, this right implies, from an ethical point of view, that the best decision for the patient must be taken and this may include, under certain circumstances, the decision not to feed. Application of the human rights-based approach to the field of clinical nutrition will contribute to the construction of a moral, political and legal focus to the concept of nutritional care. Moreover, it will be the cornerstone to the rationale of political and legal instruments in the field of clinical nutrition.

Keywords: Artificial nutrition therapy; Disease; Disease-related malnutrition; Food; Health; Human rights.

MeSH terms

Health Services Accessibility / ethics
Human Rights*
Humans
Malnutrition*
Nutrition Therapy / ethics*
Patient Rights*
Right to Health*