title: An audit to assess awareness and knowledge of nutrition in a UK spinal cord injuries centre.
abstract: METHODS
  A single centre survey.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To test: (i) awareness of nutrition screening tools and related care plans and; (ii) nutrition knowledge of doctors, nurses and dietitians working in spinal cord injuries (SCI) centres.
  
  
  METHODS
  The 14-item questionnaire was sent to 102 nurses, 17 doctors and 15 dietitians working in UK SCI centres during January-March 2010.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sixty-two (46.5%) questionnaires were completed and returned for analysis. The present audit demonstrated that awareness of the need for nutritional screening is good: 83% of staff reported that they are aware there is a nutrition screening tool. This audit also demonstrated areas of poor knowledge, such as calorie content of intravenous fluids, indicators of malnutrition, and choice of nutritional support in malnourished patients. All doctors, but only 38% of nurses, knew how to calculate body mass index. Surprisingly, nearly half (49%) of the participants thought that at least 20% weight loss was required to indicate malnutrition. This high-perceived cut-off point suggests that malnutrition is likely to continue to be undetected and unmanaged. The overall scores (median) showed clear differences in nutritional knowledge between groups (median: dietitians 92.8%; doctors 53.5%; nurses 35.7; P<0.01). This suggests that dietitians could have an important role in training healthcare professionals about nutrition.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study highlights the need for further education in SCI medicine in order to improve the efficacy of feeding and nutrition therapy for SCI patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Aylesbury, UK. Samford.Wong@ucl.ac.uk
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Derry
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Graham
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Grimble
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Forbes
mesh_terms: D003625:Data Collection; D004046:Dietetics / Q000592:standards*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D009726:Nurses / Q000592:standards*; D052756:Nutritional Sciences; D009752:Nutritional Status; D018529:Nutritional Support / Q000592:standards; D010820:Physicians / Q000592:standards*; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000178:diet therapy*; D006113:United Kingdom