No abstract

This study confirms the high risk of malnutrition in community living elderly on admission to hospital for elective surgery. According to the NRS-2002 these patients might benefit from nutritional support. However, it appears that nutritional support is not yet commonly implemented in preoperative care for this population at risk.

Malnutrition is a known problem in hospitals and nursing homes. This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of being at risk of malnutrition in community living adults receiving homecare nursing and to determine factors independently associated with this risk of malnutrition. Furthermore, it also aimed to describe aspects of current nutritional nursing care. Patients (n = 100) are screened with the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool to evaluate their risk of malnutrition. A patient survey was used to analyse associated factors. In this population, 29% are at risk for malnutrition. Following a multivariate logistic regression analysis, 'loss of appetite' proved the most important factor. A survey for nurses (n = 61) revealed low awareness, poor knowledge, poor communication between stakeholders and a moderate approach of malnutrition. These findings should encourage homecare nurses to use a recommended screening tool for malnutrition and to actively observe and report loss of appetite to initiate the prescription of individual tailored interventions. Belgian homecare nurses' management does not yet fully comply with international recommendations. Additional training in nutritional nursing care and screening methods for malnutrition is needed. Systematic screening should be further developed and evaluated in this at-risk population.

Non-communicable chronic diseases (NCCDs) are the main cause of morbidity and mortality globally. Demographic aging has resulted in older populations with more complex healthcare needs. This necessitates a multilevel rethinking of healthcare policies, health education and community support systems with digitalization of technologies playing a central role. The European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Aging (A3) working group focuses on well-being for older adults, with an emphasis on quality of life and healthy aging. A subgroup of A3, including multidisciplinary stakeholders in health care across Europe, focuses on the palliative care (PC) model as a paradigm to be modified to meet the needs of older persons with NCCDs. This development paper delineates the key parameters we identified as critical in creating a public health model of PC directed to the needs of persons with NCCDs. This paradigm shift should affect horizontal components of public health models. Furthermore, our model includes vertical components often neglected, such as nutrition, resilience, well-being and leisure activities. The main enablers identified are information and communication technologies, education and training programs, communities of compassion, twinning activities, promoting research and increasing awareness amongst policymakers. We also identified key ‘bottlenecks’: inequity of access, insufficient research, inadequate development of advance care planning and a lack of co-creation of relevant technologies and shared decision-making. Rethinking PC within a public health context must focus on developing policies, training and technologies to enhance person-centered quality life for those with NCCD, while ensuring that they and those important to them experience death with dignity.

Nurses' documentation of nutrition-related data should be improved to facilitate treatment of malnutrition with tailored multidisciplinary interventions.