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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Boston, Massachusetts » Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #37987

Title: STRATEGIES TO DETECT AND PREVENT MALNUTRITION IN THE ELDERLY: THE NUTRITIONSCREENING INITIATIVE

Author
item DWYER JOHANNA T - TUS-HNRCA0

Submitted to: Nutrition Today
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/1/1994
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Not required.

Technical Abstract: This paper outlines an approach to implement the Nutrition Screening Initiative's recommendations. Simple awareness-raising and assessment methods - summarized by the mnemonics "DETERMINE risks to nutritional health" and "Follow the ABCDEF's to assess nutritional status" - raise the awareness of physicians and other health and social service professionals as well as of older persons themselves. Instilling nutritional awareness into health and social service settings, including physician office practice, helps to identify remediable nutrition problems soon enough to correct them. The mnemonic "Use SOMe Meds and Nutrition" summarizes interventions to improve nutrition and general health, using traditional dietary measures as well as a variety of other services. Some malnutrition can be prevented by early detection. Other cases can often be controlled, alleviated, or ameliorated. Remediating nutritional problems of the elderly requires the cooperation of both personal health services and community-wide health and social service systems.