Sodiq Ojuroungbe
Malnutrition, a critical issue often overshadowed by broader public health concerns, is increasingly becoming a significant challenge within hospital settings, leading healthcare professionals have said.
The health experts lamented that hospital malnutrition, where patients’ nutritional needs are inadequately met while receiving medical care remains a critical but overlooked issue in Nigeria and many other African countries.
Speaking at a webinar organised by the West African Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition and monitored by PUNCH Healthwise, the health professionals stressed the need for healthcare professionals to evaluate patients for malnutrition upon admission to hospitals as a way to tackle the growing concern.
The experts emphasised that early detection and comprehensive management of malnutrition are necessary for preventing complications and improving patient outcomes.
They called on the government to support initiatives that focus on addressing hospital malnutrition, including funding, research, and education.
To combat this, WASPEN is spearheading a Malnutrition Awareness Week starting today (Tuesday), aimed at highlighting the prevalence and devastating impact of hospital malnutrition in Nigeria.
The initiative includes educational activities and screenings at major institutions such as Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital, and Federal Teaching Hospital, Owerri.
The week will feature two key webinars aimed at increasing awareness and promoting strategies for managing hospital malnutrition.
Dr. Teresa Pounds,
The President and Founder of the WASPEN, Dr. Teresa Pounds said despite hospital malnutrition being a silent killer that affects countless patients in Nigeria, the issue often goes overlooked and underfunded.
The pharmacist noted that patients admitted to hospitals often had pre-existing nutritional deficiencies worsened by their illnesses, surgeries, or treatments.
She stressed that without prompt and effective nutritional screening, these patients are at higher risk for complications, prolonged recovery times, and increased healthcare costs.
According to her, hospital malnutrition is a critical issue that requires immediate attention.
“Malnutrition in the hospital setting exists, and it is something we definitely have to focus on. We need to start looking at what’s happening in the hospital, and we need to support it in terms of funding, human resources, and technical support.
“When patients come into the hospital, they may have surgical procedures that make it difficult for them to eat, or they may have conditions that affect their nutritional status.
“If we don’t detect and address malnutrition early, it can lead to increased risk of infections, delayed wound healing, and even death,” she said.
The WASPEN president stated that collaboration among medical professionals was essential in tackling hospital malnutrition.
She stressed the importance of hospitals establishing multidisciplinary nutrition support committees, led by physicians and including pharmacists, nurses, dietitians, and social workers.
These committees, she noted, would be responsible for educating hospital staff, assessing patients’ nutritional status, and providing appropriate nutritional interventions.
Pounds urged the government to recognise the severity of hospital malnutrition and allocate resources to support initiatives aimed at addressing this issue.
She also called on NGOs, healthcare providers, and the media to raise awareness and advocate for change.
“Addressing hospital malnutrition requires a collective effort from all stakeholders. By working together, we can ensure that patients receive the proper nutritional care they need throughout their hospital stay”, she asserted.
Speaking further on WASPEN’s Malnutrition Awareness Week, Pounds explained that the first webinar, scheduled for Tuesday, will focus on strategies for early detection and comprehensive management of malnutrition.
She said that the second webinar, taking place on Thursday, will address advancing nutrition advocacy, adding that the session will highlight the importance of multi-disciplinary collaboration in addressing malnutrition.
On his part, a clinical pharmacist and WASPEN member, Dr. Charles Nwako lamented the lack of collaboration among healthcare providers in Nigeria.
While stressing that collaboration among medical professionals is required in tackling hospital malnutrition, Nwako said health workers need to work together as a team to provide patient-centered care.
“One challenge I see in this part of the country is that there is no proper collaboration among the healthcare providers. And that’s why you see a lot of things that are happening haphazardly. We are not collaborating. The physician, the pharmacist, and the nurses are living as if we are an island, rather than coming together to help the patient.
“Collaboration among health workers would make us provide what we call; patient-centered care. In other words, the patient is the focus.
“The patient is the focus and all these other disciplines have to work together to make sure that that patient is okay.”
On her part, a registered dietitian from the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital, Okolobiri, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Evelyn Akhigbe said there is a need for health professionals to spread awareness of malnutrition in hospitals.
While lamenting that hospital malnutrition has been completely abandoned, the food expert said government and policymakers need to work with hospital management to eradicate it.
“We need to recognise that hospital malnutrition is a critical issue that requires urgent attention.
“We urge the government to provide support for nutrition programs, research, and education to help us tackle this problem.
“Health professionals need to work together so that the government and those in policy can be aware that hospital malnutrition has been completely abandoned. That is why WASPEN is speaking for the hospitalised patients.,” she stated.
Contributing, a pharmacist from Plateau State Teaching Hospital, Naruka Solomon Yakubu said a lot of patients are not critically sick, but just malnourished.
He noted that resolving malnutrition in hospitals would help solve many health challenges.
The pharmacist, however, lamented that the lack of enough dieticians at the hospital contributed to the reason for the surge in hospital malnutrition.
He urged policymakers to facilitate the employment of more dieticians at hospitals to realise more awareness of the implications of malnourished patients.
He stressed that by working together, healthcare professionals, policymakers, and stakeholders could tackle the issue of hospital malnutrition and improve patient care in the country.
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