An investigation into the procedure of assessing nutritional status of rehabilitative geriatric patients in Canada

Iqbal, Saman (2010) An investigation into the procedure of assessing nutritional status of rehabilitative geriatric patients in Canada. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

[English] PDF - Accepted Version Available under License - The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. Download (7MB)

Abstract

Malnutrition is a common problem in geriatric rehabilitative inpatients. There are several nutritional assessment tools available, but it is not known which tools dietitians use as none are validated for geriatric rehabilitative settings. Dietitians also use a number of indicators to assess nutritional status, but the associations between commonly used indicators of nutritional status are not known. This mixed design study used two data sources. One source was a cross-sectional survey of nutritional assessment processes of dietitians. Results showed that most dietitians used modified versions of different nutritional tools. The other source included secondary data obtained from rehabilitative patients in one facility. Analysis showed that weight loss was significant during acute care hospital stay. Serum albumin levels were not associated with weight indicators, but seemed to be indicative of ill health. The study underscored the importance of developing a standardized nutritional assessment tool for rehabilitative facilities across Canada.

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