Samenvatting

Introduction Nutrition is an important determinant in maintaining health and functionality in older people. Undernutrition is still a common problem in Dutch older people and is related to increased length of stay in hospitals, early institutionalization, decreased quality of life and possibly contributes to the development of disease. Undernutrition is preceded by a state of nutrition risk, what can be identified by nutritional screening. Early identification is important in reducing the risk for complications. Therefore investigating nutrition risk factors could be useful. Main research question ‘What is the influence of homecare on community dwelling older people (75-85y) in Woerden, in relation to nutritional risk status and factors for nutrition risk,
identified with use of the SCREENII tool?’ Methods This research has been undertaken with use of a postal survey in April/May 2014 to community dwelling older people in Woerden, the Netherlands. The survey participants were aged between 75 to 85 years. The identification of older people at high nutrition risk
was undertaken using the SCREEN II (Seniors in the Community: Risk Evaluation for Eating and Nutrition, version II). (translated in Dutch). Demographic and personal characteristics of the participants were collected including, gender, living situation and whether the participants received home-care. Results There were 381 older people invited to participate and 335 older people responded, giving a response rate of 88%. There were 32.2% men and 39.4% received homecare. 46.3% lived alone, and 53.7% lived with others. Nutrition risk was present in 63.6% of the respondents (36.4% ‘at high risk’, 27.2% ‘at risk’, 31.3% ‘not at risk’ and 5.1% unspecified). 49.6% of the older people who received home-care were ‘at high risk’ against 27.7% of
people who did not receive home-care. Older people who received home-care were 1.76 (p=0.035) times more likely to be at nutrition risk than people without home-care. Also people living alone were 3.19 (p<0.001) times more likely to be at nutrition risk than people living with someone. Main factor for people at risk were low meat and -alternative intake (64.8%), low milk product intake (59.2%), low fruit and vegetable intake (58.7) and eating alone (55.4). Discussion This study gives an indication of the nutrition status among community dwelling older people aged 75-85 years old in Woerden and The Netherlands. It is recommended to validate the SCREENII tool in Dutch. Conclusion Dutch community living older people in Woerden (74-85y) are significantly more likely to be at nutrition risk, when they are receiving home-care.