Aim The prevalence of age‐related malnutrition is increasing in almost all Western countries. Because of their expertise, dietitians should have a central role in the management of malnutrition. This review aimed to synthesise the literature on the role of the dietitian in the management of malnutrition in the elderly in comparison with other health professionals. Methods In November 2018, a search of Embase, Medline Ovid, Cinahl Ebscohost, Cochrane Central, Web of Science and Google Scholar was undertaken using ‘dietitian’, ‘elderly’ and ‘malnutrition’ as the main search terms. Qualitative and quantitative empirical research studies that focussed on the role of dietitians as the (main) subject of the study were included. Data extraction and data synthesis were performed by the three authors using a thematic synthesis approach. Results Three themes emerged from the coding and synthesis of the 21 included studies. The first theme demonstrates that other health professionals' time for, and knowledge of, screening policies negatively affects the role of the dietitian. The second theme demonstrates that the importance of nutritional care is acknowledged. However, this does not always imply familiarity with dietetics nor does it always mean that other health professionals think involving dietitians is worth the effort. The third theme demonstrates that issues of workload appeared to be especially important in crossing or guarding role boundaries. Conclusions The role of dietitians in managing age‐related malnutrition is not always clear and coherent. Therefore, how dietitians shape their role to provide optimal management of malnutrition in the elderly is open to debate.

We present a model and a narrative on food care to support reflection and dialogue, i.e. the exchange of ideas or opinions between patients, informal caregivers and care professionals, as a way to specifically explore values and perspectives on the use of technologies within care triads. To this end, we used an explorative literature study and an analysis of a care practice. We propose that care professionals have the responsibility to be sensitive to and act on potential dilemmas with the use of technologies in (food) care practice. This requires explicit thinking about one’s own personal perspectives on health and food, care and technologies, and the possible perspectives of others, in achieving a fair balance in care. The ‘Dilemma Model of Technology and Care Relations’ is presented to facilitate dialogue between patients, informal caregivers and professionals, in healthcare as well as in (food) technology. The model can be used both in the workplace and in educational settings. In conclusion, contrasting values and perspectives show that an open dialogue is needed to decide what is good (food) care in each individual care practice.