Malnutrition in the UK: policies to address the problem
Elia, M. and Russell, C.A. (2010) Malnutrition in the UK: policies to address the problem. Proceedings of The Nutrition Society, 69, (4), 416-423. (doi:10.1017/S0029665110001746). (PMID:20550750).
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Description/Abstract
In 2007, the estimated cost of disease-related malnutrition in the UK was in excess of £13 x 109. At any point in time, only about 2% of over 3 million individuals at risk of malnutrition were in hospital, 5% in care homes and the remainder in the community (2–3% in sheltered housing). Some government statistics (England) grossly underestimated the prevalence of malnutrition on admission and discharge from hospital (1000–3000 annually between 1998 and 2008), which is less than 1% of the prevalence (about 3 million in 2007–2008) established by national surveys using criteria based on the ‘Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool’ (‘MUST’). The incidence of malnutrition-related deaths in hospitals, according to government statistics (242 deaths in England in 2007), was also <1% of an independent estimate, which was as high as 100 000/year. Recent healthcare policies have reduced the number of hospital and care home beds and encouraged care closer to home. Such policies have raised issues about education and training of the homecare workforce, including 6 million insufficiently supported informal carers (10% of the population), the commissioning process, and difficulties in implementing nutritional policies in a widely distributed population. The four devolved nations in the UK (England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales) have developed their own healthcare polices to deal with malnutrition. These generally aim to span across all care settings and various government departments in a co-ordinated manner, but their effectiveness remains to be properly evaluated.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Additional Information: | 13–14 October 2009, The Annual Meeting of the Nutrition Society and BAPEN, Cardiff International Arena, Cardiff. Symposium 2: The skeleton in the closet: malnutrition in the community |
| ISSNs: | 0029-6651 (print) 1475-2719 (electronic) |
| Keywords: | malnutrition, ‘MUST’ policy, mortality, hospital, care home, community |
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare J Political Science > JA Political science (General) R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine |
| Divisions: | University Structure - Pre August 2011 > School of Medicine > Developmental Origins of Health and Disease |
| Item ID: | 182421 |
| Date Deposited: | 27 Apr 2011 15:32 |
| Last Modified: | 11 Jun 2013 12:15 |
| Contributors: | Elia, M. (Author) Russell, C.A. (Author) Stratton, R.J. |
| Date: | November 2010 |
| Additional Information: | 13–14 October 2009, The Annual Meeting of the Nutrition Society and BAPEN, Cardiff International Arena, Cardiff. Symposium 2: The skeleton in the closet: malnutrition in the community |
| Status: | Published |
| URI: | http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/182421 |
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