like a hospital . It ’ s plausible these patients may not recall processes of engagement in their care . This is supported by trends suggesting those who reported receiving information about malnutrition were younger . It also begs the question , where do linguistically diverse people fit into this equation ?
Turning confusion into clarity
It ’ s clear patient engagement is a serious challenge facing dietitians and the broader healthcare team , and patients remain in the dark about their malnutrition status , intervention options and care plan . The term ' malnutrition ' is still often associated with starved children in low- or middle-income countries , or those in refugee or prisoner of war camps . Some patients also feel they are no longer malnourished if they have commenced nutritional support and for others , ' being a bit thin ' is an accepted part of the ageing process or is overshadowed by the codiagnosis of other medical conditions .
We know effective communication matters when it comes to the complex technical term of malnutrition , so as dietitians , we must work with the broader healthcare team to engage patients , identify who is best placed to communicate with patients about their nutrition care and determine the most appropriate communication methods . Malnutrition matters , and together we can be the nutrition champion for our patients .
References :
1 . Bell et al . 2023 . Are Malnourished Inpatients Treated by Dietitians Active Participants in Their Nutrition Care ? Findings of an Exploratory Study of Patient-Reported Measures across Nine Australian Hospitals . Healthcare . 11 : 1172 .
2 . Bell et al . 2021 . Systematised , Interdisciplinary Malnutrition Program for impLementation and Evaluation delivers improved hospital nutrition care processes and patient reported experience : An implementation study . Nutr . Diet . 78 : 466 – 475 .