A.S.P.E.N.’s 3rd annual Malnutrition Awareness Week™ will be held September 15-19, 2014. This year’s Malnutrition Awareness Week™ will be packed full of educational programing and resource dissemination to help clinicians understand this often poorly diagnosed condition.
The week will kick off with an overview from Alan Parver on the state of malnutrition, where things are in the U.S. and where we need to go. The rest of the week will continue with a series of webinars and two chats with the experts, free to A.S.P.E.N. members.
We can’t wait for Malnutrition Awareness Week™ and neither can our moderators. We recently caught up with Kris Mogensen, Peggi Guenter, and Susan Brantley and asked them what they are looking forward to and why people should attend A.S.P.E.N.’s Malnutrition Awareness Week™ events.
Q: Why does recognizing and treating malnutrition matter?
PG: We know Malnutrition impacts outcomes, yet there are not enough resources (priority, clinicians, funding) in hospitals and other care facilities to provide each patient with the nutrition care they need.
KM: Malnutrition has a dramatic, negative impact on patient outcomes. The prevalence of malnutrition in hospitalized patients is high—depending on the reference, it can be up to 50% of patients! In addition, hospitalized patients are at high risk of experiencing a decline in nutrition status. Malnourished patients have higher risk of infection, poor wound healing, development of pressure ulcers, and mortality. Malnourished patients may also have decreased strength and endurance, so they may have a more difficult time participating in rehab. By recognizing malnutrition early in a patient’s hospital course, we can then develop an appropriate intervention plan and ideally prevent these complications.
Q: Why should individuals in the field of nutrition support attend the webinar and chats?
SB: We have experts in the field that are available and willing to discuss their experiences and give advice based on years of treating patients who have malnutrition. What an opportunity to talk with them and get their ideas on ways to impact patient care.
Q: What do you think is the best way to raise awareness regarding malnutrition within the community and among professional?
KM: EDUCATION, EDUCATION, EDUCATION! As nutrition experts, we are well positioned to educate while rounding with a team, taking care of an individual patient at the bedside, while teaching others as part of day-to-day activities, and even providing information about malnutrition to patients and families. We need to talk about the prevalence of malnutrition, risks associated with malnutrition, and how nutrition support professionals can intervene to correct malnutrition and improve outcomes.
Q: What do you hope attendees will take away from the webinars and chats?
SB: How important it is for us to learn how to properly diagnose and treat malnutrition. This is important for our clients, for our hospitals, clinics and businesses and for our professional growth.
Learn more about malnutrition during A.S.P.E.N.’s Malnutrition Awareness Week™, September 15-19, 2014.
To view the complete Malnutrition Awareness Week™ schedule or to register for any of the events, visit www.nutritioncare.org/maw.
http://blog.nutritioncare.org/what-to-expect-from-malnutrition-awareness-week/
1.) Your link to malnutrition does not work
2) Once you find a link to register it just keeps giving the same page back when you enter NEXT and you never get confirmation. I am a Dietitian.
3) In fact, as much as you are paying this website company there are many likes to do not work and you get error ages eg Contact gives you an error on one page. The company needs to get on the ball and earn their money and keep this expensive website running correctly instead of wasting membership time and money.