Helping Families Feel Seen Beyond the Feeding Tube
Tube feeding supports nutrition, but families often need support beyond clinical care.
"What Is Better Than How" is a new awareness campaign from Compleat® featuring Elmo to help normalize tube feeding. Explore resources you can confidently share with the families in your care to help them feel seen, supported, and understood.
Why It Matters
Tube feeding affects more than nutrition. It can also impact the emotional well-being of patients and caregivers, making education, connection, and support an important part of comprehensive care.
Caregiver Burden
Caregivers of patients receiving home enteral nutrition experience substantial burden that affects their quality of life. In a multicenter study, 51.1% reported mild-to-moderate caregiver burden, 31.1% moderate-to-severe burden, and 5.6% severe burden1.
Social Isolation
A 2025 study of 155 home enteral tube feeding users found that adult patients were significantly more likely to limit social activities because of tube feeding2, while caregivers of pediatric patients reported greater feelings of social exclusion.
Education & Support
Educational interventions for patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals have been shown to improve home enteral nutrition knowledge and reduce tube-related complications3.
You Are Part of the Village
Every day, you do more than manage nutrition. You answer difficult questions, build trusted relationships, celebrate progress, and support families through some of their most challenging moments.
Whether you're introducing tube feeding to a family for the first time, or supporting families along their tube feeding journey, share the "What Is Better Than How" song with them. It's a simple way to show your support for them and continue conversations about acceptance, understanding, and belonging.
Share the Song With Your Families
Everything within "What Is Better Than How" was created to help families feel less alone while encouraging a broader understanding of tube feeding. Share the song with the patients and caregivers in your care so they can listen together, submit their own lyrics, and help continue the message of acceptance and connection.
Use Under Medical Supervision
References
- 1.Folwarski M, et al. Quality of life of caregivers of patients on home enteral nutrition. Clin Nutr. 2024;43(9):1983-1990.
- 2.Hinchcliff M, et al. Evaluating health related quality of life in paediatric and adult patients who utilise home enteral tube feeding. Clin Nutr. 2025;52:189-194.
- 3.Amaratunga H, et al. Systematic review of service improvements for home enteral tube feeding in adults. Nutr Clin Pract. 2023;38(2):329-339.