Aged Care Association Australia has criticised a report that half of all elderly residents of aged care facilities were malnourished.

"The sample size used was small and there was a assumption drawn from that sample," ACAA CEO Rod Young said.

Research by Queensland University of Technology in 2005, which is now the basis of an intervention study, looked at 350 residents and found that 42.1 per cent were classified as moderately malnourished and 6.4 per cent severely malnourished.

One of the QUT researchers, Adjunct Professor Judy Bauer, said there were many factors in the problem, the main one being a general unawareness of the problem among staff.

"It can be caused by a number of factors such as the ageing process impacting on appetite, taste and smell, a decline in functional ability making feeding difficult, or swallowing problems, but also, of course, a lack of awareness and attention to nutrition care," Prof Bauer said.

"Sometimes staff don't check if the elderly are eating their meals, aren't feeding them when they can't do it themselves, or the wrong diet is given."

But Mr Young said that this group of people, because of physical and cognitive disability, needed one-on-one care for feedings, which could take up to 30-40 mins for each elderly person.

"The staff do a great job, but we often don't have enough staff," he said

"What I'd be very interested in seeing is resi(dential) care versus self-care, because we see that having someone has a positive impact on their nutrition."

Federal Minister for Ageing Justine Elliot said aged care facilities had legal and moral obligations to provide proper care for residents.

"There are guidelines on food, nutrition, hydration and how to encourage residents to eat and drink," she said.

"The Australian Government is undertaking a record 7000 visits by the Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency to the nation's nursing homes to ensure quality of care, including nutrition and hydration."

The Minister also urged facilities to monitor food intake as many older people, particularly with chronic health problems, can lose their desire to eat, or fail to register when they are hungry or thirsty.

After 10 years working in malnutrition research, Prof Bauer said the results of her study didn't surprise her, but said it was a shocking state of affairs.

"We see a lot of attention given to the prevalence of obesity, but the fact is that malnutrition in residential aged care facilities is a huge issue," she said. "There is still the misconception that weight-loss in old age is normal."

Anyone with concerns about the hydration and nutrition care of family and friends in nursing homes should contact the Australian Department of Health and Ageing's complaints investigation scheme on 1800 550 552.

Source: Brisbane Times - Andrew Wight