title: Nutritional status and health care costs for the elderly living in municipal residential homes--an intervention study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim was to study the effect of individualised meals on nutritional status among older people living in municipal residential homes and to compare the results with a control group. An additional aim was to estimate direct health care costs for both groups.
  
  
  METHODS
  Six different municipal residential homes in the south-east of Sweden.
  
  
  METHODS
  Older people living in three residential homes constituted the intervention group n=42 and the rest constituted the control group n=67.
  
  
  METHODS
  A multifaceted intervention design was used. Based on an interview with staff a tailored education programme about nutritional care, including both theoretical and practical issues, was carried through to staff in the intervention group. Nutritional status among the elderly was measured by Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), individualised meals were offered to the residents based on the results of the MNA. Staff in the control group only received education on how to measure MNA and the residents followed the usual meal routines.
  
  
  METHODS
  Nutritional status was measured by MNA at baseline and after 3 months. Cost data on health care visits during 2007 were collected from the Cost Per Patient database.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Nutritional status improved and body weight increased after 3 months in the intervention group. Thus, primary health care costs constituted about 80% of the total median cost in the intervention group and about 55% in the control group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  With improved knowledge the staff could offer the elderly more individualised meals. One of their future challenges is to recognise and assess nutritional status among this group. If malnutrition could be prevented health care costs should be reduced.
authors.affiliation: Division of Nursing Science, Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lorefält
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Andersson
authors.forename: A B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Wirehn
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wilhelmsson
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D005522:Food Services / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000191:economics*; D006707:Homes for the Aged; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D009752:Nutritional Status; D013548:Sweden; D016896:Treatment Outcome