Food First Evaluation - Version I
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A Randomised Single Blinded Study to Evaluate the Effectiveness of the Implementation of the Food First Programme in Care Homes Located in the East of England on the Management of Malnutrition
IRAS ID
146170
Contact name
Cathy Forbes
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
South Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
14-EE-1077, NRES Committee East of England - Hatfield
Research summary
An estimated 3,000,000 people across the UK are at risk of malnutrition (i.e. undernutrition) and 150,000 of these are vulnerable elderly people living in care homes. People at risk of malnutrition are more likely to fall, contract an infection or develop a pressure ulcer than those of a healthy weight. The consequences of these carry a high cost to both the individual (as they may be admitted to hospital, require more care or have reduced quality of life) and to the NHS (in providing treatment). Therefore there is considerable interest in cost effective interventions to reduce malnutrition in care homes.
Currently there is published evidence for the use of prescribed oral nutritional supplements in the management of malnutrition. Food based interventions instead rely on anecdotal and experiential evidence. This research aims to evaluate the Food First programme, which provides training and support to care home staff to ensure that malnutrition and dehydration risks are identified regularly and managed using real food and drink wherever possible.
Care homes providing care to older people will be recruited from across the East of England and randomised into two groups. Care homes in the intervention group will receive training, information resources and guidance from the Food First team for a period of 6 months, while the control group will receive no additional input. Care homes owned by the private sector (including not for profit organisations) will be recruited and homes offering either nursing or residential care or both will be included.
Data will be collected from all homes before and after the intervention on the incidence of falls, urinary tract infections, pressure ulcers and prescribed nutritional supplements (as they are associated with malnutrition and dehydration) as well as the numbers of residents assessed as at risk of malnutrition using the national Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST).REC name
East of England - Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/EE/1077
Date of REC Opinion
22 Aug 2014
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion