Malnutrition prevalence and nutrition issues in residential aged care facilities

• Published in: Australasian journal on ageing Vol. 27; no. 4; pp. 189 - 194
• Main Authors: Gaskill, Deanne, Black, Lucinda J, Isenring, Elisabeth A, Hassall, Stacey, Sanders, Fran, Bauer, Judith D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Melbourne, Australia Blackwell Publishing Asia 01.12.2008
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Dental health; Female; Frail elderly; Frail Elderly - statistics & numerical data; Geriatric Nursing; Humans; Male; malnutrition; Malnutrition - epidemiology; Malnutrition - nursing; Middle Aged; Multivariate Analysis; Nursing; nursing home; Nursing homes; Nursing Homes - statistics & numerical data; Nutrition; Nutrition Assessment; nutritional status; Prevalence; Queensland; Queensland - epidemiology; Residential Facilities - statistics & numerical data; Sex factors; Statistics; Vitamins; Queensland
• ISSN: 1440-6381; 1741-6612
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1741-6612.2008.00324.x

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of malnutrition and investigate nutritional issues in a sample of older people living in residential aged care facilities (RACFs). Method: This study forms the descriptive component of a pretest post‐test designed study conducted in eight RACFs. The Subject Global Assessment tool was used to determine the prevalence of malnutrition in 350 residents. Results: Nearly 70% of residents were women and 79.4% of all residents were classified as high care. Half the residents were well nourished (50.5%) with 43.1% moderately malnourished and 6.4% severely malnourished. Prevalence of malnutrition was significantly higher for residents receiving higher level care (odds ratio (OR) = 2.9 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.7–5.2; P < 0.001)) and older than 90 years (OR = 3.0 (95% CI: 1.8–5.1; P < 0.001)). Of the residents considered to be malnourished, very few (17.8%) had been seen by a dietitian in the past 6 months or were receiving commercial supplements (29.2%). Conclusions: There is a need for systematic, coordinated and multidisciplinary approaches to nutritional care for older people in residential care.