Linköping University Medical Dissertations No. 951 Nutritional Intervention in Elderly People Admitted to Resident Homes

Abstract

The aim was to investigate the effects of an intervention, based on education given to staff and implementation of an individualized nutritional programme given to the residents, to compare assessments on admission with a previous study, and to perform diagnostic test and inter-rater reliability of the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA). A further aim was to identify and describe factors with regard to appetite among the residents. Upon admission, and after a four month intervention period, residents were classified as being either protein energy malnourished (PEM), or not, based on anthropometry and biochemical measurements. On both occasions, the Activity Index and the Mini Mental State Examination were used. In order to identify individuals in need of nutritional care, the MNA was performed. Information about medical data was obtained. A total of 127 residents were consecutively admitted to eight resident homes in a municipality in Sweden. Three resident homes constituted the experimental unit (n = 68) and five the control unit (n = 59). Fifteen residents were interviewed using a qualitative method, to investigate what affects their appetite