Malnutrition is one of the most common conditions that affect patients. The impacts of malnutrition on a patient’s life are diversified, such as the reduction of the quality of life, body function, and negative influence ion clinical outcomes (Reber et al., 2019). Consequently, it is crucial that nutrition screening is undertaken 24 to 48 hours after hospitalization and regularly afterward, such as after every week (Reber et al., 2019). Individuals identified with malnutrition are referred to nutritionists in order to improve their health outcomes. Good nutrition is essential in managing chronic conditions, which are quite prevalent in the elderly population. Subsequently, the topic chosen for discussion in this paper is “Beyond malnutrition screening: Appropriate methods to guide nutrition care for aged care residents. The main question that will be analyzed in this study is, “What methods can be used to identify those at risk for malnutrition? This paper will analyze the various malnutrition screening tools that are effective in recognizing malnutrition risk.
Article Search
The search for relevant articles that would help in the analysis of the discussion topic was undertaken using Google scholar. The search terms used were “Methods used to identify those at risk for malnutrition and “ Beyond malnutrition screening: Appropriate methods to guide nutrition care for aged care residents.” Several articles were identified as being relevant to this study. The article which was found to be most appropriate was authored by Isenring et al. (2012). The article addresses the topic of this study. The other article is a review of nutritional screening done by Reber et al. (2019).
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Article Findings
Malnutrition is identified as a common problem in the general population but especially amongst elderly patients due to the alteration of physiological processes during aging. Isenring et al. (2012) undertook a cross-sectional study involving 127 adults aged more than 55 years. The participants of the study were individuals in two long term care facilities. The researchers sought to determine the validity of various nutritional screening tools. The nutrition screening tools investigated included the Mini Nutritional Assessment -Short Form (MNA-SF), Malnutrition Screening Tool (MST), Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST), and the Simplified Nutritional Assessment Questionnaire (Isenring et al., 2012). The nutritional status assessment methods investigated were Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), body mass index, Subjective Global Assessment (SGA), corrected arm muscle area, and calf circumference (Isenring, 2012). A comparison with the SGA revealed that the MST had the best sensitivity and specificity. The study found out that malnutrition prevalence was lower than 30 percent estimated by the SGA. The article concludes that MST, MUST, MNA-SF, corrected arm muscle area, and calf circumference are appropriate methods for identifying persons at risk for malnutrition. These methods can be appropriately used in long term care for geriatric patients.
The article review by Reber et al. (2019) found out that the Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 (NRS-2002) was useful for inpatient settings, MUST for ambulatory settings, while the MNA was appropriate for assessing geriatric patients in care facilities. A study by Young et al. (2013) found the MNA tool to be appropriate for assessing malnutrition risk while SGA was effective in identifying already existent malnutrition.
Evidence for Practice
Despite the low malnutrition prevalence indicated by some of the investigated tools, malnutrition is a serious health concern that needs to be examined. This study might help health care providers have an in-depth understanding as to why nutritional assessment is crucial, especially for elderly patients. Nutritional assessments can help mitigate the occurrence of complications and lead to better health outcomes. The article by Isenring et al. (2012) has the weakness of having recruited a small number of participants. The recruitment of a large sample size would have helped give a better indicator of the malnutrition problem.
Sharing of Evidence
Patient care is a collaborative aspect that involves different health care practitioners. Consequently, the information regarding malnutrition will be shared with doctors, nurses, dieticians amongst other health care practitioners. The information would be shared through case studies, presentations, pamphlets, and electronically. It would be essential to share this information with the nursing practitioners because it would help them in assessing for malnutrition and creating timely interventions that can help prevent the development of complications in patients.
Conclusion
Elderly patients are at an elevated risk of being malnourished. Malnutrition can result in negative health outcomes and the occurrence of complications. Consequently, various malnutrition screening methods should be used to identify individuals at risk for malnutrition. Sharing this information with the multidisciplinary teams involved in patient care would help them in assessing malnutrition risk and creating interventions to mitigate negative health outcomes and complications.
References
Isenring, E., Banks, M., Ferguson, M., & Bauer, J. (2012). Beyond Malnutrition Screening: Appropriate Methods to Guide Nutrition Care for Aged Care Residents. Journal Of The Academy Of Nutrition And Dietetics , 112 (3), 376-381. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jada.2011.09.038
Reber, E., Gomes, F., Vasiloglou, M., Schuetz, P., & Stanga, Z. (2019). Nutritional Risk Screening and Assessment. Journal Of Clinical Medicine , 8 (7), 1065. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm8071065
Young, A., Kidston, S., Banks, M., Mudge, A., & Isenring, E. (2013). Malnutrition screening tools: Comparison against two validated nutrition assessment methods in older medical inpatients. Nutrition , 29 (1), 101-106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nut.2012.04.007
