PP237 - ADAPTATION OF THE MALNUTRITION AWARENESS SCALE (MAS) FOR POLAND: A FEASIBILITY STUDY WITH COGNITIVE DEBRIEFING
PP237
ADAPTATION OF THE MALNUTRITION AWARENESS SCALE (MAS) FOR POLAND: A FEASIBILITY STUDY WITH COGNITIVE DEBRIEFING
J. A. Dardzinska1,*, K. Wierzba2, M. Sealy 3, E. Leistra 4, M. Visser 4, S. Małgorzewicz1
1Department of Clinical Nutrition, 2Department of Rheumatology, Clinical Immunology, Geriatrics and Internal Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland, 3Research Group Healthy Ageing, Allied Health Care and Nursing, Hanze University of Applied Science, Groningen, 4Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Rationale: Early identification of malnutrition risk in community-dwelling older adults is essential for timely intervention. The Malnutrition Awareness Scale (MAS) developed by Visser et al. assesses malnutrition awareness but lacked a Polish version. This study aimed to translate and culturally adapt the MAS into Polish.
Methods: We followed a 6-step protocol, including forward translation, reconciliation, back-translation, and harmonization. Cognitive debriefing included: 1) Thinking Aloud study (n=12, 50% female, age 67–93); 2) Content validation by 14 experts; 3) Feasibility study among 90 older adults (57% female; mean age 75; range 60-93 years; mean BMI 26.6 (SD 5.1) kg/m2) to assess item-level comprehensibility (I-CI) and difficulty (I-DI).
Results: The average completion time in the Thinking Aloud study was 15 minutes. Respondents reported no survey burden; only minor linguistic adjustments were necessary. The expert panel (dietitians, physicians, researchers, 3-50 years of work experience) confirmed content validity; the majority of items received maximum scores for relevance, although one item regarding dietary habits (skipping warm meals) showed higher score dispersion, however, it remained within acceptable limits (I-CVI>0.71). Internal consistency was acceptable (Cronbach’s alpha=0.63). The Scale Comprehensibility Index (S-CI) was 0.99, and the Scale Difficulty Index (S-DI) was 0.97. All individual items exceeded the 0.78 threshold. No floor or ceiling effects were observed.
Conclusion: The Polish version of the MAS is a comprehensible and feasible tool for assessing malnutrition awareness in older adults. It is suitable for clinical application and ready for full psychometric validation.
References: Visser M, Sealy MJ, Leistra E, et al.The Malnutrition Awareness Scale for community-dwelling older adults: Development and psychometric properties. Clin Nutr. 2024;43(2):446-452
Disclosure of Interest: None declared