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Validity and Reliability of a Nutrition Screening Tool in Identifying Malnutrition Among Hospitalized Adult Patients
Author(s) -
Tah Pei Chien,
Kee Chee Cheong,
Majid Hazreen Abdul
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
nutrition in clinical practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.725
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1941-2452
pISSN - 0884-5336
DOI - 10.1002/ncp.10416
Subject(s) - malnutrition , medicine , inter rater reliability , reliability (semiconductor) , health care , cross sectional study , pediatrics , psychology , developmental psychology , power (physics) , rating scale , physics , pathology , quantum mechanics , economics , economic growth
Background Malnutrition among hospitalized patients is closely associated with various medical complications. This study aimed to determine the validity and reliability of a 3‐Minute Nutrition Screening (3‐MinNS) tool in identifying the risk of malnutrition among hospitalized patients that can be administered by healthcare professionals. 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.