Physician Perspectives on Malnutrition Screening, Diagnosis, and Management: A Qualitative Analysis

Abstract

Malnutrition is an important clinical entity that is frequently underdiagnosed and undertreated, in part due to a lack of education and different perceptions by healthcare providers on its value in medical practice. Given this void, the purpose of this qualitative study was to explore physicians’ clinical perspectives on malnutrition care, including its prevalence in their practice, and potential barriers that might preclude the delivery of malnutrition care. Using a directed content qualitative analysis approach, a total of 22 general and subspecialist physicians across three Canadian provinces were interviewed using a series of standardized questions developed by a multidisciplinary research team. Responses were transcribed and then analyzed using NVivo Version 14 software. While physicians recognized the importance of malnutrition screening and treatment, they did not view themselves as the primary drivers and often deferred this responsibility to dietitians. Lack of standard malnutrition screening, education amongst allied healthcare providers, time, personnel, and referral processes to have patients assessed and managed for malnutrition were also identified as contributing factors. For physicians, malnutrition education, standard malnutrition screening during patient encounters, and access to the necessary tools to manage malnutrition using a more centralized approach and standard referral process were viewed as strategies with the potential to improve the ability of the physician to identify and manage disease-related malnutrition and its negative consequences.