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Protein, malnutrition and wasting disorders

The impact of using a malnutrition screening tool in a hospital setting: a mixed methods study

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 73, pages 284–292 (2019)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background/Objectives

Malnutrition risk screening represents a crucial starting point for the successful management of malnourished patients. This study was conducted to (1) examine the effect of the use of a malnutrition screening tool on process indicators of nutritional care and (2) explore healthcare professionals’ perceptions and opinions regarding this tool.

Methods

A mixed methods design was used. A controlled pretest–posttest study was conducted to carry out quantitative analyses, and semi-structured, qualitative interviews were held. Quantitative data were analysed with descriptive statistics, Chi-squared tests, Student’s t-tests and Kruskal–Wallis H tests, using SPSS 23. Qualitative data were analysed by performing a qualitative content analysis using MAXQDA 12. Two comparable hospitals participated in the study, representing one intervention group (IG) and one control group (CG). The Graz Malnutrition Screening Tool (GMS) was implemented and used in the IG for at least 1 month, while the CG received no intervention.

Results

The use of the screening tool positively correlated with significant improvements in the process indicators of nutritional care after 1 month, in terms of the number of nutritional interventions and the frequency of documentation of the diagnosis and the patient’s weight and height. The content of the interviews revealed that nearly all professionals involved perceived the overall screening process positively. Few barriers were identified.

Conclusions

The results of this study show that the use of a screening tool has a positive, short-term impact on the hospital’s process quality of nutritional care. Ongoing efforts are required to sustainably maintain these positive changes. During this process, positive attitudes, nomination of motivated ‘opinion-leaders’ and concerted management support are helpful facilitators.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Nursing Science, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria

    Doris Eglseer, Daniela Schoberer & Christa Lohrmann

  2. Department of Health Services Research, CAPHRI, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    Ruud Halfens

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  1. Doris Eglseer
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  2. Daniela Schoberer
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  4. Christa Lohrmann
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Doris Eglseer.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethics approval

Ethical approval was obtained from the responsible ethics committee (29-270 ex 16/17). The hospitals participated on a voluntary basis, and all responsible persons (medical and nursing hospital directors) gave their written informed consent. The persons interviewed agreed orally to participate in the interviews. Following the recommendations of the ethics committee, it was not necessary to obtain the informed consent from the patients because we only collected routine data.

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Eglseer, D., Schoberer, D., Halfens, R. et al. The impact of using a malnutrition screening tool in a hospital setting: a mixed methods study. Eur J Clin Nutr 73, 284–292 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-018-0339-z

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