4. NUTRITION SCREENING
• Nutrition screening is defined as “the process of identifying
patients, clients, or groups who may have a nutrition diagnosis
and benefit from nutrition assessment and intervention by a
registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN).” Key considerations for
nutrition screening include:
• 1. Tools should be quick, easy to use, and able to be conducted
in any practice setting.
• 2. Tools should be valid and reliable for the patient population
or setting.
• 3.Tools and parameters are established by RDNs, but the
screening process may be performed by dietetic technicians,
registered, or other trained personnel.
• 4. Screening and rescreening should occur within an
appropriate time frame for the setting (AND, 2013a; Skipper et
5. • What are commonly used nutrition screening
tools?
• Nutritional screening tools are used to identify
those at risk of becoming malnourished.
Commonly used screening tools include:
1. Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 (NRS-2002)
2. Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST)
3. Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA)
4. Subjective Goal Assessment(SGA)
5. Malnutrition Screening Tool(MST)
17. Nutrition Screening for Health and Well-being
• Determining Nutrition Risk:
– Food, nutrient, and botanicals intake patterns
– Psychosocial and economic factors
– Physical conditions
– Abnormal laboratory findings
– Medication and treatment regimens
• Periodic Nutrition Screening:
– Essential for everyone throughout life
– Similar to an annual health examination
• Purpose:
– Identify malnourished individuals or those at risk
– Determine the need for a detailed assessment
• Cost-Effective Nutrition Services:
– Screen patients for nutritional risk
– Facilitates cost-effective healthcare services
18. Purpose of screening
• Purpose of Screening:
– Identify individuals at risk or already malnourished.
– Full nutrition assessment is complex, time-consuming, and resource-intensive.
• Quick Screening Stage:
– Efficiently filters out individuals not at risk in the population.
– Enables focused allocation of resources and care to those with or at risk of under nutrition.
• Population Screening:
– Identifies individuals at increased risk of disease or condition.
– Some populations screened may not be considered 'healthy,' requiring healthcare
intervention.
• ASPEN Definition:
– Nutritional screening by ASPEN aims to identify malnourished or at-risk individuals.
– Guides the need for a detailed nutrition assessment.
• Intervention Following Screening:
– Determined by a comprehensive assessment.
– Considers causes and effects of under nutrition.
– Leads to a personalized care plan, pathway, or process.
