Nutrition Sciences Department, Faculty of Sciences at, Tel-Hai Academic College, Kiryat Shmona, Israel.
Department of Family Medicine and Siaal Research Center for Family Medicine and Primary Care, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
Isr J Health Policy Res. 2024 Sep 2;13(1):42. doi: 10.1186/s13584-024-00631-x.
Malnutrition in the elderly places a significant burden on healthcare, social, and aged-care systems, yet it often remains undiagnosed and untreated. This study aims to evaluate family physicians' knowledge and attitudes towards the diagnosis and treatment of malnutrition in the elderly.
Based on a literature review, an online questionnaire was developed, comprised of seven knowledge-related items and eight attitude-related questions regarding malnutrition in elderly populations. We also assessed the feasibility of including two malnutrition screening questions in regular clinic visits for individuals aged ≥ 70 years.
Surveys were completed by 126 physicians (35% response rate), mean age 47.2 ± 12.6 years; 15.6 ± 12.5 years of practice; 67% females; and 92% board-certified family physicians. Moreover, 77.6% agreed that diagnosing malnutrition is important in patients with decreased appetite. Most respondents demonstrated knowledge of nutritional screening principles (63.5%) and recognized that even obese elderly individuals could be malnourished (83.2%). There was partial agreement (60%) that normal BMI values in the elderly differ from those in younger populations. Almost complete agreement was seen for incorporating two nutritional status questions in medical visits (91%), with physicians expressing willingness to receive training in malnutrition identification and screening tools. Despite challenges such as time constraints and limited knowledge, participants were open to conducting biannual malnutrition risk screening for elderly patients.
We recommend malnutrition screening in primary care followed by malnutrition diagnosis and referral of malnourished patients to the proper intervention.
老年人营养不良给医疗、社会和老年护理系统带来了巨大负担，但这种情况往往未被诊断和治疗。本研究旨在评估家庭医生对老年人营养不良的诊断和治疗的知识和态度。
基于文献回顾，我们开发了一个在线问卷，其中包括七个与知识相关的项目和八个与老年人营养不良相关的态度问题。我们还评估了在≥70 岁的个体的常规就诊中纳入两个营养不良筛查问题的可行性。
共有 126 名医生（35%的回复率）完成了调查，平均年龄为 47.2±12.6 岁；从业时间 15.6±12.5 年；女性占 67%；92%为家庭医学委员会认证医生。此外，77.6%的医生认为在食欲减退的患者中诊断营养不良很重要。大多数受访者对营养筛查原则有一定的了解（63.5%），并认识到即使是肥胖的老年人也可能营养不良（83.2%）。有部分医生（60%）认为老年人的正常 BMI 值与年轻人不同。几乎所有医生（91%）都同意在就诊时纳入两个营养状况问题，医生表示愿意接受营养不良识别和筛查工具的培训。尽管存在时间限制和知识有限等挑战，但参与者愿意对老年患者进行每半年一次的营养不良风险筛查。
我们建议在初级保健中进行营养不良筛查，然后对营养不良患者进行诊断，并将其转介至适当的干预措施。
