Nutritional Risk and Nutritional Care Practices in the Hospitalized Elderly

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The purpose of this study is to estimate the prevalence of nutritional risk and examine nutritional care practices in the hospitalized elderly at one large university hospital in Norway.

Detailed Description
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A cross-sectional study was designed and carried out at a university hospital in Norway. The study was developed by a collegium at a nursing bachelor education program in a multidisciplinary collaboration with representatives from the university hospital and other experts. Data on nutritional risk and nutritional care practices of elderly patients were collected by 173 second year nursing students at the university college in question who were undergoing their acute and clinical care practice studies on 20 wards at the university hospital. Nine nutritional screening days were conducted in the academic years 2011/2012 and 2012/2013. On the screening days the students filled in the questionnaire for each patient, including questions about age, gender, length of hospital stay, normal weight in recent months, weight, height, BMI, nutritional risk and nutritional care practices. The students measured weight and height whenever possible, and screened the patients for nutritional risk. Data were collected by using a stratified sampling technique along with adequate power calculations to improve the representativeness of the sample. The researchers received anonymously completed questionnaires and screening forms from the students and never met the patients.

Official Title
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Nutritional Status and Care of Elderly People

Conditions
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Undernutrition, Malnutrition

Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: All elderly (≥70 yrs) patients admitted on the included wards at 08.00 am on the screening days were asked to participate. Exclusion Criteria: Terminal patients (assumed short-lived, <1 month), patients diagnosed with dementia and patients whom the ward staff found unfit to participate were excluded.

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 70 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Nutritional risk | Patients was screened for nutritional risk on 9 screening days conducted in the academic years of 2011/2012 and 2012/2103. The Nutritional Risk Screening Tool 2002 (NRS2002) was employed to identify nutritional risk in the patients. | 9 screening days were conducted in 2011-2013 | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Nutritional care practices | Questions regarding the nutritional care practices concerned weight measurements on admission and then weekly, conduction of nutritional risk screening, coding of undernutrition diagnosis (E43, E44, or E46) in line with the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10), and initiation of nutritional measures. | 9 nutritional screening days were conducted in the period 2011-2013 | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Undernutrition, Nutritional risk, NRS2002, nutritional care practices, hospital, elderly patients, nursing students