Page 64 - Petelin, Ana. 2021. Ed. Zdravje starostnikov / Health of the Elderly. Proceedings. Koper: University of Primorska Press.
P. 64
avje starostnikov | health of the elderly 62 dietitian, nurse, cooks) is the most important. When planning a diet, it
is important to take into account age-related changes and the presence
of various diseases. An early dietary approach has been found to reduce
complications during treatment, reduce hospital stays with disease
exacerbation, and reduce morbidity and mortality among the elderly.
Nutritional support arrangements require certain financial resources.
Due to the lack of financial resources, we propose arrangement of
nutrition support with the help of mobile nutrition teams as it requires
lower operating costs in the long run compared to conventional nutrition
support systems in social welfare institutions.
Keywords: nutrition support, nutrition support arrangements, social care
institutions
Introduction
The number of elderly people in Western countries is increasing over the years.
The importance of good nutrition among the elderly is of great importance. It
has been found that protein-energy malnutrition is very common in sick el-
derly people. Between 35-85% of the elderly in social care institutions are mal-
nourished. Malnutrition means great economic costs to society. Early detec-
tion is important because malnourished seniors are more likely to need health
and social services and have more hospitalizations, higher morbidity and mor-
tality rates. The elderlies in nursing homes are at greatest nutritional risk, with
malnutrition more likely in those in need of a higher level of care (Guyon-
net and Yves, 2015). Depression, disability and poor physical performance have
been found to be significantly associated with the risk of malnutrition. Assess-
ing nutritional status and the presence of risk factors associated with malnu-
trition is also important for achieving effective prevention and planning a bet-
ter intervention strategy (Donini et al., 2020). The concept of nutrition support
with appropriate staff was introduced at the end of the 20th century in both
the United States and European countries. Nutrition support teams are com-
posed mostly of many experts of various specialties (dieticians, nurse, gastro-
enterologist and others). The essence of nutrition support teams is the timely
implementation of nutritional screening, the establishment of nutritional in-
terventions, and counseling of health care providers in the case of nutrition-
al interventions). The optimal team that provides adequate nutritional support
to caregivers are: nurses, physicians, clinical dietitians, dieticians, and cooks
(Berg et al., 2021). However in some places nutrition teams get lost in the sys-
tem itself, due to savings, in others they are formed in terms of cost and quali-
ty. The challenge for nutrition teams in smaller hospitals is primarily to find a
balance between the cost of services itself and their benefits. The concept of a
mobile nutrition team becomes attractive in cases where the hospital facilities
themselves are reluctant to fund the services of these teams and when the num-
ber of patients on parenteral nutrition is low. The existence of a mobile nutri-
is important to take into account age-related changes and the presence
of various diseases. An early dietary approach has been found to reduce
complications during treatment, reduce hospital stays with disease
exacerbation, and reduce morbidity and mortality among the elderly.
Nutritional support arrangements require certain financial resources.
Due to the lack of financial resources, we propose arrangement of
nutrition support with the help of mobile nutrition teams as it requires
lower operating costs in the long run compared to conventional nutrition
support systems in social welfare institutions.
Keywords: nutrition support, nutrition support arrangements, social care
institutions
Introduction
The number of elderly people in Western countries is increasing over the years.
The importance of good nutrition among the elderly is of great importance. It
has been found that protein-energy malnutrition is very common in sick el-
derly people. Between 35-85% of the elderly in social care institutions are mal-
nourished. Malnutrition means great economic costs to society. Early detec-
tion is important because malnourished seniors are more likely to need health
and social services and have more hospitalizations, higher morbidity and mor-
tality rates. The elderlies in nursing homes are at greatest nutritional risk, with
malnutrition more likely in those in need of a higher level of care (Guyon-
net and Yves, 2015). Depression, disability and poor physical performance have
been found to be significantly associated with the risk of malnutrition. Assess-
ing nutritional status and the presence of risk factors associated with malnu-
trition is also important for achieving effective prevention and planning a bet-
ter intervention strategy (Donini et al., 2020). The concept of nutrition support
with appropriate staff was introduced at the end of the 20th century in both
the United States and European countries. Nutrition support teams are com-
posed mostly of many experts of various specialties (dieticians, nurse, gastro-
enterologist and others). The essence of nutrition support teams is the timely
implementation of nutritional screening, the establishment of nutritional in-
terventions, and counseling of health care providers in the case of nutrition-
al interventions). The optimal team that provides adequate nutritional support
to caregivers are: nurses, physicians, clinical dietitians, dieticians, and cooks
(Berg et al., 2021). However in some places nutrition teams get lost in the sys-
tem itself, due to savings, in others they are formed in terms of cost and quali-
ty. The challenge for nutrition teams in smaller hospitals is primarily to find a
balance between the cost of services itself and their benefits. The concept of a
mobile nutrition team becomes attractive in cases where the hospital facilities
themselves are reluctant to fund the services of these teams and when the num-
ber of patients on parenteral nutrition is low. The existence of a mobile nutri-
