title: [Study on knowledge and practices related to malnutrition in the elderly to the nursing home].
abstract: The prevalence of malnutrition in nursing homes varies between 50% and 90% in Belgium. There are multiple causes of malnutrition and one of the consequences is the impact on the workload of nursing home staff. The purpose of this study is to better understand the knowledge and the practices of the nursing home staff who would influence the nutritional status of elderly in nursing homes. This study is divided into a quantitative approach with a self-administered questionnaire and a qualitative approach by non-participant observation. We observed that 29% of nursing home staff have good knowledge about the malnutrition and that 64% have good practices in providing nutrition to the elderly. People with good knowledge tend to have better practices. 38% of the nursing home staff engage in continued professional development in the field. There is no systematic screening, nutritional assessment and nutritional intervention in nursing homes. It is of great importance to ensure nursing home staff are aware of this problem through training.
authors.affiliation: Centre de recherche en politiques et systèmes de santé, Ecole de santé publique, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Bruxelles, Belgique.
authors.forename: Mélissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brys
authors.affiliation: Centre de recherche en politiques et systèmes de santé, Ecole de santé publique, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Bruxelles, Belgique.
authors.forename: Yves
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Coppieters
authors.affiliation: Service de gériatrie, Hôpital Erasme, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgique.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: De Breucker
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D009735:Nursing Homes / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards; D009752:Nutritional Status; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: elderly; malnutrition; nursing home; nutritional intervention; screening; undernutrition