Abstract
Community Living Elderly: What Are Dietitians Doing When It Comes To Malnutrition Screening?
Nutrition & dietetics, Vol.73(Supplement 1), p.19
Dietitians Association of Australia National Conference, 33rd (Melbourne, Australia, 19-May-2016–21-May-2016)
2016
Abstract
Evidence-based practice guidelines recommend routine malnutritionscreening of community living elderly, yet little is known about screen-ing practice. Therefore, the aim of this observational study was toinvestigate malnutrition screening practice of Australian dietitiansworking in community settings. A cross-sectional online survey withboth closed and open-ended questions was adapted to investigatecurrent practice, and barriers and enablers to malnutrition screening. Atotal of 133 dietitians completed the survey, with open-ended responsesreceived from 92 of those individuals. The majority of data were ana-lysed descriptively, with content analysis of open-ended responses toestablish the key barriers and enablers. Malnutrition screening occurswithin most organisations (77%) and was highest within governmentorganisations. The majority (75%) reported a malnutrition screeningtool was used; the most common was the Malnutrition Screening Tool (n= 52) followed by the Mini Nutritional Assessment short-form (n = 27).Efusal for nutritional assessment after positive screening was reportedby 66% of survey respondents. Dietitians identiï¬ed policy and proce-dures related to screening and the provision of training and education tostaff as the strongest enablers. Insufï¬cient time to screen and lack ofknowledge about malnutrition emerged as the strongest barriers.Overall screening practice is largely inconsistent and refusal for nutri-tional assessment after positive screening was common as reported by66% of survey respondents. This suggests a deeper understandingregarding malnutrition screening from the perspective of the elderly isneeded. Identifying and addressing disparities between practice andperception may ultimately reduce the prevalence of malnutrition riskamong community living elderly.
Details
- Title
- Community Living Elderly: What Are Dietitians Doing When It Comes To Malnutrition Screening?
- Authors
- Dana Craven (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and EngineeringFiona Pelly (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and EngineeringGeoff Lovell (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and EngineeringMaree Ferguson (Author) - University of QueenslandLiz Isenring (Author) - Bond University
- Publication details
- Nutrition & dietetics, Vol.73(Supplement 1), p.19
- Conference details
- Dietitians Association of Australia National Conference, 33rd (Melbourne, Australia, 19-May-2016–21-May-2016)
- Publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Asia
- Date published
- 2016
- DOI
- 10.1111/1747-0080.12774
- ISSN
- 1446-6368
- Organisation Unit
- Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research; Tropical Forests and People Research Centre; School of Social Sciences - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Health - Nutrition & Dietetics; School of Health and Sport Sciences - Legacy; Forest Research Institute; School of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Legacy
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99451042802621
- Output Type
- Abstract
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