Nurses' Knowledge and Responsibility toward Nutritional Assessment for Patients in Intensive Care Units

Abstract

Introduction: Nutritional assessment is a prerequisite for nutritional delivery. Patients in intensive care suffer from under-nutrition and nutritional failure due to poor assessment. Nursing ability to early detect nutritional failure is the key for minimizing imparities in practice and attaining nutritional goals. Aim of this article is to examine the ability of Jordanian ICU nurses to assess the nutritional status of critically ill patients, considering biophysical and biochemical measures.Methods: This cross sectional study recruited nurses from different health sectors in Jordan. ICU nurses from the governmental sector (two hospitals) and private sectors (two hospitals) were surveyed using a self-administered questionnaire. Nurses' knowledge and responsibility towards nutritional assessment were examined.Results: A total of 220 nurses from both sectors have completed the questionnaire. Nurses were consistent in regard to knowledge, responsibility, and documentation of nutritional assessment. Nurses in the governmental hospitals inappropriately perceived the application of aspiration reduction measures. However, they scored higher in applying physical examination and anthropometric assessment. Although both nurses claimed higher use of biochemical measurements, biophysical measurements were less frequently used. Older nurses with longer clinical experience exhibited better adherence to biophysical measurement than younger nurses.Conclusion: Nursing nutritional assessment is still suboptimal to attain nutritional goals. Assessment of body weight, history of nutrition intake, severity of illness, and function of gastrointestinal tract should be considered over measuring albumin and pre-albumin levels. A well-defined evidence-based protocol as well as a multidisciplinary nutritional team for nutritional assessment is the best to minimize episodes of under-nutrition.

Nutritional Awareness in Intensive Care Nurses

“…Kritik bakım ünitelerinde hasta ile en fazla vakit geçiren hemşireler hastaların ihtiyaç duyduğu bakımı sağlamada ve malnutrisyona bağlı komplikasyonları önlemede anahtar role sahiptir 3,19,20 .…”

Perbedaan antara NRS-2020 dan must terhadap prediksi kondisi metabolik pada pasien luka bakar

“…Menurut Al Kalaldeh, et al (2014) Hasil skrining gizi dapat mengetahui kondisi pasien dan mendeteksi beberapa komplikasi penyakit serius. Berdasarkan rekomendasi dari British Association of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (BAPEN), alat observasi gizi yang sederhana dan mudah dapat digunakan untuk menunjukkan adanya masalah gizi pada pasien yang memerlukan tindak lanjut yang komprehensif.…”

Incidence of Enteral Nutrition-Related Diarrhea Among Critically Ill Patients in Intensive Care Units

“…Despite the prevalence of EN-associated diarrhea among critically ill patients, few studies investigated this complication in Jordan. Indeed, most studies in the field of EN in Jordan focused on nurses' practices concerning EN (Al Kalaldeh & Shahein, 2014; Al Kalaldeh, Watson, & Hayter, 2015; Darawad et al, 2015, 2018; Hammad, Al-hussami, & Darawad, 2015; Mosleh, Alnajar, & Almalik, 2021). So, it is of a clinical importance to focus on the characteristics of critically ill patients themselves as a target population fed by the EN modality.…”