title: Nutrition in patients receiving home care in Finland: tackling the multifactorial problem.
abstract: This study describes the nutritional status of Finnish home care patients (n=178), their problems related to eating, digestion, and diet; their use of Meals on Wheels services; and informal caregivers' role in nutritional support. Half of the patients were at risk for malnutrition and 3% were malnourished according to Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) results. Most patients had problems with food intake, which were related to lower MNA scores. One-third of the participants had an unbalanced diet, and approximately half received assistance with shopping and food preparation from an informal caregiver. Home care patients' nutritional status, including all related aspects, such as shopping, food preparation, eating, and digestion, must be evaluated regularly and comprehensively.
authors.affiliation: Herttoniemi Health Center, City of Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Soini
authors.forename: Pirkko
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Routasalo
authors.forename: Sirkka
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lauri
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003152:Community Health Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D005522:Food Services; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006699:Home Care Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D020380:Needs Assessment; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D052756:Nutritional Sciences / Q000193:education; D009752:Nutritional Status; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires