A registry study of nursing assessments, interventions and evaluations according to nutrition for persons living in municipal residential care homes.
Anja Backlund, Olga Holmbeck, Christine Kumlien and 1 others
PMID 30062028WHAT IT FOUND
In Swedish care homes, nurses planned interventions for most residents at risk of malnutrition but evaluated them far less often.
Fewer than half of planned actions were checked, leaving unclear whether the care actually helped.
Key findings
01Interventions were planned for 66.8% of nutritional assessments, but only 27.5% of those planned interventions were evaluated.
02Among assessments showing a risk of malnutrition, 17.0% had no planned interventions, whereas 44.0% of assessments showing no risk did have planned interventions.
03Dietary support, pharmaceutical review, and weight control were the interventions most likely to be evaluated.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study relied on registry data which lacks medical history or background information on participants. The MNA-SF is a screening tool and may over- or under-represent the actual risk of malnutrition. It is unclear if interventions were performed but not documented, or if evaluations were done but not recorded. The study was conducted in one town in southern Sweden, which may limit generalizability to other regions or care systems.
Declared interests
No conflict of interest has been declared by the authors.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that a planned intervention equals effective care. The study shows that most planned interventions were never evaluated, so their actual benefit to the patient remains unknown.