Simple nutrition screening tool helps nurses catch at-risk hospital patients
A Swedish-developed screening tool adapted for UK hospitals can quickly identify malnourished patients, reducing costly complications and readmissions. Nurses rated the MEONF-II as easy to use and more effective than competing tools—a finding that could reshape how hospitals manage patient nutrition at scale.
Originaltitel: Nutritional screening: a user-friendly tool adapted from Sweden
<p>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.</p>