Nurses needed: Identifying malnutrition in hospitalized older adults

• Older Americans are at high risk for malnutrition and loss of lean body mass.
• Up to 60% of older adults in the hospital setting are malnourished.
• Many older adults with or at risk for malnutrition go unrecognized and untreated.
• Malnutrition can negatively impact overall health and recovery.
• Nurses play a role in the identification of malnutrition and malnutrition risk.

The American population is aging with one in every seven Americans over the age of 65. Throughout the healthcare continuum, this segment of the population is faced with the burden of malnutrition brought on by many factors including aging, inadequate food intake, and acute and chronic medical conditions. The loss of lean body mass, strength, and functionality compound malnutrition leading to weakness, hospitalizations, and overall decreased ability to perform activities of daily living. Up to 60% of hospitalized older adults are malnourished but many patients go unrecognized and undertreated. Nurses are in a pivotal position to change this trajectory. Nurses are often the first to identify patients in need of nutrition intervention and are integral to encouraging nutritional intake from admission through discharge. Effective nutrition screening can be conducted by nurses in minimal time as part of the admission process through the use of a screening tool that is simple, fast, reliable, and valid. As part of the collaborative health care team, nurses can effectively communicate nutrition screening results through the use of the electronic health record and when prescribed, ensure that nutrition interventions occur within the targeted timeframe. Nurses can develop procedures to provide patients with meal assistance, reliable access to food and snacks across all shifts, and help bridge nutritional gaps through oral nutritional supplements all in an effort to address malnutrition.