P639 - HOW WELL DOES THE INTERRAI-AC UNDERNUTRITION CAP IDENTIFY MALNUTRITION RISK FOR MĀORI AND NON-MĀORI INPATIENTS IN AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND?

P639

HOW WELL DOES THE INTERRAI-AC UNDERNUTRITION CAP IDENTIFY MALNUTRITION RISK FOR MĀORI AND NON-MĀORI INPATIENTS IN AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND?

S. MacDonell^1,*, M. Illingworth¹, K. Pemberton², S. Wilds², J. Newland², M. Parsons^3,4

¹Nutrition & Dietetics, University of Auckland, Auckland, ²Nutrition & Dietetics, Te Whatu Ora Waikato, ³Nursing, Waikato University, ⁴Nursing, Te Whatu Ora Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand

Rationale: The accuracy of the interRAI undernutrition Clinical Assessment Protocol (CAP) has not been established in New Zealand hospital populations. The aim of this study was to determine the ability of the interRAI-Acute Care (AC) to predict malnutrition risk in adult inpatients of a district hospital in Aotearoa New Zealand when compared to an alternative malnutrition screening tool (MST) and the Subjective Global Assessment (SGA).

Methods: Dietitians trained in malnutrition screening and assessment methods collected data from 220 consenting inpatients at Waikato Hospital New Zealand. Sensitivity and specificity for both screening tools compared to the SGA were calculated for the total cohort and separately for Māori and non-Māori patients. 

Results: 220 adults (53% female, 65.7±17.8 years) were assessed, 25% of whom were Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. Body Mass Index (BMI) differed between Māori and non-Māori (31.7±8.3 vs 26.8±6.9 kg/m²). SGA identified 41% of Māori and 45% of non-Māori as being malnourished. Significantly fewer patients were screened as at risk of malnutrition by the interRAI-AC CAP compared to the MST (Māori: 42% vs 57%, P=0.002; non-Māori: 45% vs 57%, P<0.001). The sensitivity and specificity of the interRAI CAP for Māori patients were 0.61 and 0.72 vs the MST at 0.83 and 0.61, respectively.  Both screening tools had higher sensitivity and specificity for non-Māori patients (interRAI: 0.70 and 0.75; MST: 0.91 and 0.71 respectively).

Conclusion: The MST did not consider phenotypic criteria (BMI) and was better able to identify malnutrition risk for both Māori and non-Māori inpatients. Future research is needed to investigate which interRAI-AC data points are better able to identify malnutrition risk in diverse populations.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared