Usefulness of Nutrition Screening of the Elderly

Abstract

ABSTRACT Nutrition assessment is not a component of the routine health screening of the elderly, despite the important role that nutrition plays in the health status of the elderly population. Instruments are available to assess physical, cognitive, emotional, and social functions of the elderly, but each of these focuses on one aspect of health and does not necessarily reflect overall health status. More comprehensive tools are available to detect risk factors; however, they rely heavily on home visits by health professionals and do not include nutrition assessment. Before 1989, measures that included a nutrition component were indices to predict post‐surgical outcomes of hospitalized patients and were not aimed at screening community‐living people. The Nutrition Screening Initiative was formed as a multidisciplinary effort to promote nutrition screening and awareness and to incorporate nutrition into the healthcare system. The tools developed by the Nutrition Screening Initiative for use by the lay public and by health professionals include: the Determine Your Nutritional Health Checklist, which is an awareness and educational tool that can be self‐administered; a Level I Screen, which is a basic nutrition screen designed for use by social service and health professionals; and a Level II Screen, which provides more specific diagnostic information on nutrition status and is administered by health and medical professionals. Manuals were developed to assist the incorporation of screening tools into medical practice, health maintenance organizations, and home care agencies. Nutrition assessment and intervention are worthwhile endeavors that may add years of independent living and decrease medical expenditure for the elderly.