Clinical Nutrition and Human Rights. An International Position Paper

2024 Peggi Guenter excellence in clinical practice lectureship: From curiosity and eagerness to passion: Moving the malnutrition needle

Most every new clinician practicing in nutrition support enters their practice environment with wide open eyes and a sense of curiosity as they encounter new patient and clinical experiences. As clinicians expand their expertise, they often identify challenges they are eager to address. Eagerness turns to passion as the desire to affect change grows. Malnutrition has sparked curiosity and interest in many, and, in some, it has become a passion. As a result, many major achievements have occurred both in the United States and globally that have the capability of moving the needle favorably to achieve better outcomes for our patients. This lecture will highlight how curiosity, eagerness, and passion have led to successes in addressing aspects of malnutrition. These successes offer the structure to continue our efforts to move the needle forward. Our patients deserve nothing more.

Physician Perspectives on Malnutrition Screening, Diagnosis, and Management: A Qualitative Analysis

Malnutrition is an important clinical entity that is frequently underdiagnosed and undertreated, in part due to a lack of education and different perceptions by healthcare providers on its value in medical practice. Given this void, the purpose of this qualitative study was to explore physicians' clinical perspectives on malnutrition care, including its prevalence in their practice, and potential barriers that might preclude the delivery of malnutrition care. Using a directed content qualitative analysis approach, a total of 22 general and subspecialist physicians across three Canadian provinces were interviewed using a series of standardized questions developed by a multidisciplinary research team. Responses were transcribed and then analyzed using NVivo Version 14 software. While physicians recognized the importance of malnutrition screening and treatment, they did not view themselves as the primary drivers and often deferred this responsibility to dietitians. Lack of standard malnutrition screening, education amongst allied healthcare providers, time, personnel, and referral processes to have patients assessed and managed for malnutrition were also identified as contributing factors. For physicians, malnutrition education, standard malnutrition screening during patient encounters, and access to the necessary tools to manage malnutrition using a more centralized approach and standard referral process were viewed as strategies with the potential to improve the ability of the physician to identify and manage disease-related malnutrition and its negative consequences.

Nutritional Care for Adults in Nursing Homes: A Scoping Review

The need for improved nutrition in older adults requiring care has been acknowledged, but, to the best of our knowledge, there is a lack of systematic review and integration of nutritional care studies with older adults in nursing homes. This scoping review aimed to examine the scope and nature of nutritional care research for older adults in nursing homes and to identify research gaps, following the guidelines of the Joanna Briggs Institute. We found varied nutritional care for older adults living in nursing homes, including individualized sessions, such as nutrition counseling, the addition of foods and preparations for increased nutritional intake, and the maintenance of an eating environment, such as feeding assistance and calling. The nutritional care identified in this scoping review also included studies that have improved the nutritional status of older adults in nursing homes by implementing educational programs for care staff. For future research on effective nutritional care for older adults in nursing homes, we suggest evaluating both short- and long-term intervention effects with an adequate sample size.

Hungry for more: Australian medical students' competence, attitudes and preferences towards nutrition education

BACKGROUND

Inadequate nutrition education in medical training is a prevailing global challenge. This study assessed Australian medical students' self-perceived competencies in nutrition and preferences regarding nutrition education in medical training.

METHODS

We conducted a national cross-sectional online survey between September 2019 and January 2020. Our survey collected sociodemographic characteristics and assessed nutrition competency according to a validated assessment tool. All Australian medical students aged over 18 were eligible to participate.

RESULTS

One hundred ninety-five medical students representing 20 Australian medical schools completed the survey and reported moderate nutrition knowledge (17·6 ± 4.1 out of 35, 50%) and skills (29.8 ± 7.6 out of 55, 54%). Students demonstrated positive attitudes towards nutrition training/education (35·9 ± 4.0 out of 40, 90%). Most medical students (n = 148, 72%) reported they had sought some form of nutrition education outside of their degree. Students showed preference for practical, evidence-based nutrition education that is integrated in and prioritised throughout medical training.

CONCLUSIONS

Australian medical students express positive attitudes towards nutrition but report only low to moderate nutrition knowledge and skills. There is an opportunity to incorporate practical, regular nutrition learning activities into Australian medical curriculums to equip future doctors to adequately address non-communicable disease. Such initiatives are likely to be well received by students.

C-reactive protein and white blood cell count are adverse prognostic markers for patients with advanced cancer on parenteral nutrition in a palliative care unit setting: A retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

Parenteral nutrition is controversial in patients with advanced cancer. Nevertheless, this treatment is common practice near the end of life.

AIM

We aimed to identify factors which were associated with the outcome of patients on parenteral nutrition at an academic tertiary palliative care unit.

DESIGN

In this retrospective cohort study patients were assigned to two groups according to parenteral nutrition treatment. Inferential statistics were used to assess whether the dynamics of laboratory variables over 2 weeks of parenteral nutrition were associated with survival.

SETTING/PARTICIPANTS

Patients admitted to the Department of Palliative Medicine at the Medical University of Vienna between 2016 and 2018 were included in this study.

RESULTS

Of 443 patients, 113 patients received parenteral nutrition. Patients had a lower body mass index, lower levels of bilirubin, γ-glutamyltransferase, alkaline phosphatase, and were of younger age compared to patients which did not receive parenteral nutrition. No difference in survival as measured from admission to death was found when comparing the two groups. Levels for γ-glutamyltransferase, alkaline phosphatase, and C-reactive protein significantly increased during 2 weeks of parenteral nutrition. Among patients with parenteral nutrition, an increase in C-reactive protein or white blood cell count levels was associated with lower survival.

CONCLUSION

Patients who responded with an increase of C-reactive protein or white blood cell count during 2 weeks after reinitiation or start of parenteral nutrition had a worse survival. Our findings might support clinicians and patients in their decision to forgo parenteral nutrition in a palliative care setting.