NURSES, NUTRITION, AND NEW VALUE-BASED CARE OPPORTUNITIES

The World Health Organization's Decade of Healthy Aging began in 2020. This article focuses on nutrition's role in healthy aging with examples of older adult nutrition programs in Canada, the European Union, and the United States, including work of the Canadian Malnutrition Task Force, the European Malnutrition in the Elderly Knowledge Hub, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs.

The Oncology Care Model (OCM) is a US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) specialty model implemented to provide higher quality, more highly coordinated oncology care at the same or lower costs. Nutrition is a component of best-practice cancer care, yet it may not be addressed by OCM providers even though up to 80% of patients with cancer develop malnutrition and poor nutrition has a profound impact on cancer treatment and survivorship. This paper outlines how and why quality nutrition care is integral to the OCM and can benefit patient health and provider outcomes.

This article for The National Black Nurses Association (NBNA) identifies how diet is a major contributing factor in many chronic diseases and conditions, including those disproportionately affecting minority populations. The National Institutes of Health’s new strategic plan to accelerate nutrition research creates an opportunity to advocate for adequate minority enrollment in NIH clinical trials targeting nutrition.

Chronic wounds can impact hospital readmissions and many CMS value-based programs and quality measures are related to wound care. This International Council on Active Aging blog identifies who is most at risk for chronic, nonhealing wounds and outlines the critical role of targeted nutrition care. 

This video, by the Alliance for Aging Research, describes how nutrition impacts aging; discusses the benefits of eating a well-balanced diet and the challenges of poor nutrition; details the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans and its specific recommendations for older adults; and provides community resources for older adults to access healthy foods. Available in English and Spanish.

This toolkit, by Defeat Malnutrition Today Coalition and Women In Government, highlights specific policy actions to develop the framework for successfully preventing and intervening for malnutrition among older adults. Use this toolkit to raise constituent awareness about malnutrition and develop policies and implement feasible solutions to combat this public health crisis affecting so many older adults and their families in America today. 

This toolkit, by Defeat Malnutrition Today Coalition and Women In Government, provides information on the malnutrition issue and how to communicate to state policymakers about its impact on the older adult population. Included are resources addressing how malnutrition is a growing but preventable problem in America today; what policy changes can help decrease malnutrition; how multiple states are taking action to end malnutrition; and how constituents can help influence state policymakers to do the same. 

This article from Dr Akshay Batra, MBBS, MD, MRCPCH, highlights the impact of human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) on the microbiome and their synergistic relationship; explains the diversity of probiotics in the infant microbiome; and discusses the current research regarding reduction in infant mortality and morbidities.

Childhood malnutrition remains far too common around the world – nearly 150 million children under 5 are stunted and 50 million are wasted. Currently there’s no universal malnutrition screening tool used, and occasional growth screenings may not catch nutrient deficiencies until a child is already malnourished. 

In this article, clinicians and experts at Abbott have proposed a stepwise strategy to help end childhood malnutrition. 

The blog Nutrition Programs Fuel the Health and Well-being of Older Americans, for the American Society on Aging, describes the importance of food access and how the COVID-19 pandemic increased the burden of food insecurity among older adults, as well as further-exacerbated inequities that existed before COVID-19.