Hospital Nutrition Assessment Practice 2016 Survey

Malnutrition is a significant problem for hospitalized patients in the United States. Nutrition assessment is an important step in recognizing malnutrition; however, it is not always performed using consistent parameters.

A survey among U.S. American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN) members was conducted to collect data on nutrition assessment parameters used in hospitals and to establish how facilities use their electronic health record (EHR) to permit data retrieval and outcome reporting.

The survey was developed by the ASPEN Malnutrition Committee and was sent to 5487 U.S. ASPEN members, with 489 responding for a 9% response rate. Ninety-eight percent of adult and 93% of pediatric respondents indicated a registered dietitian completed the nutrition assessment following a positive nutrition screen. Variables most frequently used among adult respondents included usual body weight, ideal body weight, and body mass index. Among pediatric respondents, weight-for-age and height-for-age percentiles and length/height-for-age percentile were most frequently used. Both adult and pediatric respondents indicated use of physical assessment parameters, including muscle and fat loss and skin assessment. Eighty-seven percent of adult and 77% of pediatric respondents indicated they are using the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (Academy) and ASPEN Consensus Malnutrition Characteristics for Adult and Pediatric Malnutrition, respectively. Overall, 97% of respondents indicated nutrition assessment documentation was completed via an EHR. Of all respondents, 61% indicated lack of clinical decision support within their EHR.

This survey demonstrated significant use of the Academy/ASPEN malnutrition consensus characteristics.