Prevalence of ‘being at risk of malnutrition’ and associated factors in adult patients receiving nursing care at home in Belgium

This Belgian study examined the risk of malnutrition among 100 adult patients receiving professional home nursing care. Using the validated MUST screening tool, it was found that 29% of the patients were at moderate to high risk of malnutrition. The most significant independent risk factor was loss of appetite. Notably, none of the at-risk patients were using prescribed nutritional supplements, and communication with general practitioners about eating problems was often lacking. The participating nurses (n = 61) demonstrated limited knowledge: fewer than half routinely weighed patients, none used the MUST or MNA tools, and nutritional care was not considered a priority. Only 44% consistently informed GPs about patients' eating issues. Despite the presence of informal and formal caregivers, one in four patients did not eat at least one hot meal a day. The study concludes that systematic screening is lacking, and calls for improved training, better GP communication, and the use of validated tools to detect and address malnutrition in this vulnerable population.

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