Introduction
Nutritional well-being is an integral
component of the health, independence,
and quality of life of older individuals.1-3
Although the majority of persons aged 70
years and older are reported to be in good
to excellent health4,5 it is estimated that
85% of noninstitutionalized older persons
have one or more chronic conditions that
could improve with proper nutrition'2 and
that up to half have clinically identifiable
problems that require nutrition intervention.15,6
The detection of nutritional risk
among the elderly and referral as needed
to appropriate nutrition services and resources
are key concems of the Nutrition
Screening Initiative."7 The Initiative, a
national effort supported by more than 25
professional organizations, is committed
to the identification of nutritional problems
in older persons and to improved delivery
of nutrition services to those with
the greatest nutrition-related health risks.
Through a consensus-building process
and ongoing research, the Nutrition
Screening Initiative has developed strategies
for increasing consumer awareness of
nutrition problems and detecting nutritional
risk among older people in different
settings.7-9 These strategies include the
development of a Checklist to increase
consumer nutrition awareness. The
Checklist describes characteristics associated
with poor nutritional status and
guides consumers to professionals with
whom to discuss nutritional concems.10
Early professional diagnosis and treatment
of nutrition-related problems in the
elderly should improve the management
of chronic conditions in older people and
enhance their well-being and quality of
life."I
The purpose of the research presented
in this report was to recommend
items for the Initiative's consumer awareness
Checklist and to calibrate the instrument.
Specifically, we examined the relative
importance of Checklist items in
predicting nutrient intake and health outcomes,
made recommendations for item
weights in the Checklist, and estimated
the distribution of Checklist scores in a
noninstitutionalized older population.