METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted between January and December 2012. A total of 350 adult patients in a teaching hospital were screened for risk of malnutrition using 3-MinNS and Subjective Global Assessment (SGA). To assess interrater reliability, each patient was screened for risk of malnutrition using 3-MinNS by 2 different nurses on 2 different occasions within 24 hours after admission. To assess the validity of 3-MinNS, the level of risk of malnutrition identified by the nurses using 3-MinNS was compared with the risk of malnutrition as assessed by a dietitian using SGA within 48 hours after the patients' enrolment into the study. The sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values were calculated in detecting patients at risk of malnutrition. Interrater reliability was determined using κ statistics.
RESULTS: Using SGA, the estimated prevalence of moderate to severe malnutrition was 36.3% (127/350). There was 94% proportional agreement between 2 nurses using 3-MinNS, and interrater reliability was substantial (κ = 0.79, P < .001). The analysis showed that 3-MinNS had moderate sensitivity (61.4%-68.5%) but high specificity (95.1%).
CONCLUSIONS: The 3-MinNS is a reliable and valid screening tool for use by healthcare professionals for identifying newly admitted medical and surgical patients who are at risk of malnutrition.
Methods: The questionnaire contained items on the socio-demographic characteristics, medical condition, quality of life (QOL), nutritional status, functional capacity, and depression status. The forward and backward translation processes of the original English language version of the questionnaire were undertaken by three independent linguistic translators, while its content was validated by an expert team consisting of seven geriatricians, physicians, dietitian, and lecturers. The Malay version of the questionnaire was tested for face validity in 10 older adult patients over 65 years of age. The internal consistency reliability and construct validity were evaluated among 166 older adult patients (mean age, 71.0 years; 73.5% male). The questionnaire was administered through face-to-face interviews with the patients. Minor amendments were made after the content and face validity tests.
Results: The internal consistency reliability was good, as the Cronbach's alpha for most of the scales surpassed 0.70, ranging from 0.70 to 0.98, with only one exception (Mini Nutritional Assessment Short-Form, Cronbach's alpha=0.62). The factor loadings for all scales were satisfactory (>0.40), ranging from 0.45 to 0.90.
Conclusion: The Malay-version CGA showed evidence of satisfactory internal consistency reliability and construct validity in Malaysian geriatric patients.
METHODS: A 17-item questionnaire was developed to assess nutrition practices and administered to dialysis managers of 150 HD centers, identified through the National Renal Registry. Nutritional outcomes of 4362 patients enabled crosscutting comparisons as per dietitian accessibility and center sector.
RESULTS: Dedicated dietitian (18%) and visiting/shared dietitian (14.7%) service availability was limited, with greatest accessibility at government centers (82.4%) > non-governmental organization (NGO) centers (26.7%) > private centers (15.1%). Nutritional monitoring varied across HD centers as per albumin (100%) > normalized protein catabolic rate (32.7%) > body mass index (BMI, 30.7%) > dietary intake (6.0%). Both sector and dietitian accessibility was not associated with achieving albumin ≥40 g/L. However, NGO centers were 36% more likely (p = 0.030) to achieve pre-dialysis serum creatinine ≥884 μmol/L compared to government centers, whilst centers with dedicated dietitian service were 29% less likely (p = 0.017) to achieve pre-dialysis serum creatinine ≥884 μmol/L. In terms of BMI, private centers were 32% more likely (p = 0.022) to achieve BMI ≥ 25.0 kg/m2 compared to government centers. Private centers were 62% less likely (p
Methods: In this qualitative study, structured interviews by focus groups were conducted. Dietitians from different governmental and private sectors were invited to participate in the study. Focus groups were stratified based on the participants' gender and years of experience to promote self-disclosure. Abridged transcript of relevant and useful points was performed. The transcripts were coded and cross-validated by two researchers.
Results: A total of four focus groups were conducted. Two focus groups comprise 9 male participants and the other two comprise 10 females. The age of participants ranged 25-40 years old. Participants were employees in Riyadh city with experience that ranged 3-10 years old. Nine themes of the necessary knowledge and skills were identified.
Conclusion: It is recommended for the Saudi government to create standards specialised for clinical nutrition and dietetics undergraduate and graduate programmes.
METHODS: Using a purposive sampling method, this study was conducted on dietitians practising in the Malaysian hospitals (government and private). The Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ), a validated 16-item questionnaire was self-administered, either by online survey method or face-to-face method. Additional information on gender, ethnicity, years of experience and percentage of working time spent on clinical, administrative and other areas were collected.
RESULTS: A total of 69 dietitians participated in the study (private (n = 36) and government (n = 33)). The dietitians' mean total TEQ scores were 49.72 ± 5.62 (score ranged between 35 and 63). Significant difference of mean total TEQ scores was found between dietitians from private (51.06 ± 5.26) and government hospitals (48.27 ± 5.72). There was no significant difference in the level of empathy by gender, ethnicity, years of experience and percentage of time spent on clinical consultations, administration or others while at work.
CONCLUSIONS: Results from this study showed that there were differences in empathy level of Malaysian dietitians by work setting. This preliminary finding serves as a baseline for future studies and could facilitate the development of dietetics education in Malaysia.