The Malnutrition Screening Tool in Geriatric Rehabilitation: A Comparison of Validity When Completed by Health Professionals With and Without Malnutrition Screening Training Has Implications for Practice

The application of the MST by health professionals without malnutrition risk and screening training in rehabilitation may not provide sufficient accuracy in identifying patients with malnutrition risk. Using an MST score of ≥2 to indicate malnutrition risk is recommended, as increasing the MST cutoff score to ≥3 is likely to have insufficient accuracy, even when completed by health professionals with malnutrition risk and screening training. Research evaluating the impact of providing rehabilitation staff with regular and ongoing training in completing malnutrition screening and referral pathways is warranted.