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Nutrition Care in Canadian Hospitals: Study

A Bit of
Background		 Study
Objectives 		Study Sites and
Investigators		 Current
Status		 How to
Get Involved
A Bit of Background

Malnutrition has been a longstanding concern in Canadian healthcare environments.
For a brief snapshot of the issue, consider the facts:

Malnutrition in hospitals is a result of many factors affecting patients at different stages of their hospitalization:

Before admission:

  • Socio-psychological and
    environmental conditions
  • Weight loss
  • Increased age
  • Inadequate nutrition care in the community
  • underlying disease

At admission:

  • Poor screening process
  • Shortage of healthcare
    professionals
  • Lack of nutritional care plan
    and clear protocols
  • Underlying disease

After admission (during stay):

  • Poor food quality
  • Unnecessary fasting
  • Lack of time
    monitoring nutrition
  • Unclear roles of
    inter-professional team
  • Lack of nutritional interventions

Malnutrition is also associated with:

  • Increased length of stay
  • Higher hospitalization costs
  • Increased mortality rate
  • Impaired wound healing
  • Increased infection rates
  • Added complications

 

Study Objectives
  1. To assess nutrition status and prevalence of malnutrition, including obesity, in hospitalized patients
  2. To determine whether malnourished and obese patients have extended lengths of stay or increased 30-day re-admission and mortality rates
  3. To demonstrate the change in nutritional status that occurs during hospitalization
  4. To evaluate the practice of nutritional care in Canadian hospitals
  5. To determine if patients are satisfied with their nutrition care, including meals
  6. To validate a feasible nutrition risk tool
  7. To determine the costs vs. benefits of quality care
Study Sites and Investigators (adult study)

Phase 1 Study Sites

  • Réseau de santé Vitalité Health Network: Campbellton Regional Hospital, Campbellton, New Brunswick
  • St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Ontario
  • University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario
  • St. Boniface General Hospital, Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • Royal Alexandra Hospital, Edmonton, Alberta
  • Sturgeon Community Hospital, Edmonton, Alberta

Phase 2 Study Sites

  • Réseau de santé Vitalité Health Network: Centre hospitalier universitaire Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont, Moncton, New Brunswick
  • Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec
  • Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region, Regina, Saskatchewan
  • Foothills Medical Centre, Calgary, Alberta

Phase 3 Study Sites

  • Vancouver General Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia
  • Niagara Health System, St. Catharines, Ontario
  • Toronto East General Hospital, Toronto, Ontario
  • Nanaimo Regional General Hospital, Nanaimo, British Columbia
  • Yarmouth Regional Hospital, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia
  • Hopital Notre Dame du CHUM, Montreal, Quebec.
  • Hamilton Health Sciences, Hamilton, Ontario
  • Hôpital Pierre-Le Gardeur, Terrebonne, Quebec

Site Investigators

  • Manon Laporte MSc, Dt.P, CNSC
  • Khursheed Jeejeebhoy MB, BS, MRCP, PhD, FRCP
  • Pauline Darling PhD, RD
  • Johane Allard, MD, FRCP
  • Donald Duerksen, MD, FRCPC
  • Leah Gramlich MD, FRCPC
  • Paule Bernier, Dt.P, MSc
  • Roseann Nasser, RD, MSc.
  • Maitreyi Raman MD, FRCPC
  • Theresa Cividin MA, RD
  • Eileen Cabrera MSc, RD.
  • Adam Rahman MD, (D)ABIM, FRCP(C)
  • Angela Chen RD, CNSD
  • Heather Tant RD
  • Patti Simpson M.Ad.Ed., P.Dt
  • Danuta Balicki MD, PhD, CSPQ, FRCPC, FACP
  • Louise Belley Dt.P
  • David Armstrong, MA, MB BChir, FRCP(UK), FACG, AGAF, FRCPC
  • Catherine Talbot Dt. P.

Site Coordinators

  • Isabelle Caissie
  • Stanley Zhang
  • Bianca Arendt
  • Laura Toews
  • Nicole Journault
  • Claire Johnson
  • Marissa Ranallo
  • Colleen Klein
  • Sally Ho
  • Claudia Dow
  • Andrea Digweed
  • Cathy You
  • Tracy Lister
  • Natalie Pothier
  • Josee Beaudoin
  • Anda Maric
  • Genevieve St. Jean.

Study Sites and Investigators (pediatric study)

Study Sites

  • Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, Montreal, Quebec
  • BC Children's Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia
  • Kingston General Hospital, Kingston, Ontario
  • Alberta Children’s Hospital, Calgary, Alberta
  • IWK Health Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia

Site Investigators

  • Emile Levy MD, PhD
  • Valerie Marchand MD, FRCPC
  • Vishal Avinashi MD, MPH, FRCPC
  • Angela Noble MD
  • Dana Boctor MSc, MD, FRCP(C)
  • Mohsin Rashid MD, FRCP(C)

Site Coordinators

  • Andrea McCarthy
  • Sarah Harvey
  • Nicole Gilbert
  • Amanda MacDonald

Current Status

With Phase 1 complete, we are excited to note our progress to date:

How to Get Involved

Want to Delve into the Details?

The Phase 2 results are now available.

 

© Canadian Malnutrition Task Force