title: Nutritional screening: a user-friendly tool adapted from Sweden.
abstract: Screening for undernutrition is highly important and may reduce morbidity and mortality. The Minimal Eating Observation and Nutrition Form Version II (MEONF-II) is a nutritional screening tool specifically developed for use by nurses. The authors describe the translation, performance and appropriateness of MEONF-II for the UK. Following translation from Swedish to British English, the user-friendliness and appropriateness of the British MEONF-II was tested by 29 registered nurses and final-year student nurses on 266 hospital inpatients. The new British MEONF-II was perceived as highly user-friendly and appropriate. Assessors found MEONF-II to compare favourably with other similar tools in terms of preference, usefulness and helpfulness in providing good nutritional care. Dependency in activities and poorer subjective health were associated with a higher risk of undernutrition. These findings support the appropriateness of the British MEONF-II version and suggest it may act as a user-friendly facilitator for good nutritional nursing care.
authors.affiliation: Senior Lecturer, Course Director, Adult Nursing, School of Health Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK.
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Professor, The PRO-CARE Group, School of Health and Society, Kristianstad University, Sweden.
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Westergren
authors.affiliation: Practice and Development Nurse, The Queen Elisabeth Hospital, King's Lynn NHS Foundation Trust, UK.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Saunders
authors.affiliation: Professor, The PRO-CARE Group, School of Health and Society, Kristianstad University, Sweden.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hagell
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000451:nursing*; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D009752:Nutritional Status; D013548:Sweden; D014177:Translations; D006113:United Kingdom
keywords: MEONF-II; Nutrition; Screening; Translation; Undernutrition