title: [Nurses' attitudes towards nutritional care and malnutrition in hospitalised older people: A Survey in the Liguria Region].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Evaluate nurses' attitudes towards nutritional assistance in elderly hospitalized individuals, using the scale "The Staff Attitudes To Nutritional Geriatric Nursing Care Scale (SANN-G Scale)", recently validated in Italian.
  
  
  METHODS
  A descriptive survey was carried out, involving all head nurses and nurses of wards within University Hospital San Martino Hospital in Genoa and ASL3 Genovese Villa Scassi. A comparison was carried out using the Kruscall-Wallis test between wards, in order to determine whether there were significant differences in attitudes with respect to nutritional assistance. Results were compared between individuals who had follow a lecture on nutritional assistance and those who had not, using the test Mann Whitney.
  
  
  RESULTS
  110 questionnaires were delivered of these 103 were filled in (94%). Only 26% of the sample shows to have a strong positive attitude with respect nutritional assitance in elderly people. No significant differences were found either between wards and the other or between those who nurse had lecturer and those who have not.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study revealed a substantial negative attitude with respect to nutritional assitance and malnutrition in the elderly, confirming that aspects related to nutrition of the elderly are not properly taken into account in comparison to other nursing care activities. Our results are similar to those of the internationl literature. There is therefore a need also in Italy to increase awareness of professionals on these issues.
authors.affiliation: Infermiere Coordinatore Azienda Sanitaria Locale Genova.
authors.forename: Nadia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Casanova
authors.affiliation: Ricercatore Universitario Dipartimento Scienze della Salute.
authors.forename: Annamaria
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bagnasco
authors.affiliation: Tutor Corso di Laurea in Infermieristica, Polo Universitario L. Sacco, Università degli Studi Milano.
authors.forename: Loris
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bonetti
authors.affiliation: Professore Associato Dipartimento Scienze della Salute, Università degli Studi Genova.
authors.forename: Loredana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sasso
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000451:nursing*; D009729:Nursing; D044623:Nutrition Therapy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires