title: Nurses and nutrition: a survey of knowledge and attitudes regarding nutrition assessment and care of hospitalized elderly patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Nurses' knowledge and attitudes regarding nutrition care play an important role in patient nutrition assessment and intervention. This study measured the association between nutrition knowledge and attitudes about nutrition care and feeding patients among nurses working in hospital settings.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross-sectional survey queried nutrition knowledge, attitudes, clinical applications, and task rankings using structured questionnaires in a representative sample of 106 nurses employed at two large government hospitals.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean proportion of correct responses to the nutrition knowledge questionnaire was 51.9% ± 0.1%. Nutrition care tasks, including feeding patients, performing nutrition assessment, and providing appropriate food to patients, were ranked as relatively unimportant. A significant positive association was identified between total nutrition knowledge score and the importance placed on the role of nutrition in health and disease.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Nutrition education for nursing staff could improve both nutrition knowledge and willingness and confidence to perform nutrition assessment.
authors.affiliation: E.Wolfson Medical Center, Holon, Israel. monabo@ariel.ac.il
authors.forename: Mona
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Boaz
authors.forename: Lydia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rychani
authors.forename: Kohava
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Barami
authors.forename: Zahava
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Houri
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yosef
authors.forename: Avital
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Siag
authors.forename: Yitzhak
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Berlovitz
authors.forename: Eyal
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Leibovitz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D058620:Elder Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D005260:Female; D005851:Geriatric Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital; D015596:Nutrition Assessment