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Nutritional screening as an indicator of nursing care quality
LENKOVÁ, Klára
Proper nutrition is essential for every human being, whether healthy or sick. Nutrition is, according to associate docent Kohout, one of the areas that is most neglected in health and social facilities in the Czech Republic. Standardized nutritional care should be established in all hospitals, representing a comprehensive nutritional and qualified solution for clients/patients. The standardized nutritional care involves systematic assessment of nutritional status of a client/patient and a search for clients/patients at nutritional risk. It further includes an appropriate diet according to the needs and capabilities of a client/patient and timely provision of adequate nutritional support to clients/patients who were identified as nutritionally at risk. Finally, standardized nutritional care also includes monitoring and documenting the effects of nutritional therapy, because the effect of individual measures cannot be monitored without proper documentation. The objective is to monitor the process of identification, evaluation and implementation of actions to ensure nutritional care in selected medical facilities from the perspective of the senior nursing management. Another objective is to map how significant quality indicator this is and what problems are seen in creating and maintaining a standard situation. Data collection was carried out by an interviewing technique using questionnaires. Respondents were from hospitals in the Czech Republic where we addressed the members of their senior nursing management. H1 ``The hospitals use established control mechanisms to find out about the nutritional status of compliance with established standards of nutritional care{\crqq} has been confirmed. H2 ``Nutritional screening is performed by nurses on all clients/patients at reception{\crqq} has been confirmed. H3 ``Nutritional screening during hospitalization is repeated only in clients/patients at risk{\crqq} has been confirmed. H4 ``Nurses develop nutritional screening within the cooperation of nurses with a nutritional therapist in the provision of standardized nutrition care{\crqq} has been confirmed, and H5 ``The results of nutritional screening are used by nurses as the basis for the saturation of clients{\crq}/patients{\crq} nutritional requirements{\crqq} has also been confirmed. The second objective was to map how significant quality indicator this is and what problems are seen in creating and maintaining a standard situation. The performance of nutritional screening has become the second most important quality indicator according to the research. As for the problems seen by respondents in relation to creating and maintaining a standard situation, it can be said, on the basis of the research results, that the biggest problems in creating and maintaining a standard situation is the lack of personnel, economic demands and approach of the personnel, their reluctance and disinterest. We attempted to explore the process of identification, evaluation and implementation of actions to ensure nutritional care in selected medical facilities from the perspective of the senior nursing management and then, based the results, to suggest ways of potential improvement of the current situation in the field of clients{\crq}/patients{\crq} nutrition.
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