Nurse-friendly nutritional screening for patient benefit

Abstract

Screening for undernutrition is highly important and may reduce morbidity and mortality. The Minimal Eating Observation and Nutrition Form – Version II (MEONF-II) is a nutritional screening tool specifically developed for use by nurses. Here, we describe the translation, performance and appropriateness of the MEONF-II for the UK. Following translation from Swedish to British English, the user-friendliness and appropriateness of the British MEONF-II was tested by 29 registered nurses and final year student nurses on 266 hospital inpatients. The new British MEONF-II was perceived as highly user-friendly and appropriate. They found the MEONF-II to compare favourably to other similar tools in terms of preference, usefulness and helpfulness in providing good nutritional care. Dependency in activities and poorer subjective health were associated with a higher undernutrition risk. These findings support the appropriateness of the British MEONF-II version and suggest it may act as a user-friendly facilitator towards good nutritional nursing care