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Table 3 Overview of the study’s validity: From assumptions to questions

From: Lack of focus on nutrition and documentation in nursing homes, home care- and home nursing: the self-perceived views of the primary care workforce

Assumptions

Purpose

Questions

Routines in relation to nutrition: Healthcare professionals are not well-trained or educated in identifying nutritional problems, setting up goals, identifying interventions and evaluating nursing sensitive outcomes.

To investigate how healthcare professionals’ self-perceived views on competencies within nutrition and documentation and organizational structures influence their daily work and the quality of care provided within the nursing home and home care/home nursing setting.

-How do healthcare professionals describe their specific nutritional routines in their daily work?

Routines in relation to documentation: Healthcare professionals are not well-trained or educated in systematically developing care plans

-How do healthcare professionals describe their specific documentation practices in their daily work?

Knowledge in relation to nutrition: Malnutrition or nutritional issues are often overlooked in nursing homes and home care/home nursing, because the healthcare professionals lack awareness and knowledge of which variables affect and influence patients’ nutritional state, hence affecting the quality of care.

- Do the different healthcare professionals consider that their education sufficiently prepares them to provide nutritional care?

Knowledge in relation to documentation: Healthcare professionals are not using existing nutritional screening tools or guidelines because they are not aware of how to put them to use in a clinical setting.

- Do the different healthcare professionals consider that their education sufficiently prepares them to document and develop nutritional care plans?

Attitudes towards nutrition: Malnutrition or nutritional issues are often overlooked, because healthcare professionals do not prioritize nutritional care.

-Do healthcare professionals consider nutrition to be an important part of their job and daily tasks?

Attitudes towards documentation: Malnutrition or nutritional issues are often overlooked, because healthcare professionals do not prioritize documentation.

-Do healthcare professionals feel that documentation is an important part of their job and daily tasks?

Factors that affect daily work and quality of care (organizational obstacles): Nutrition and documentation routines are not specified and clear for the healthcare professionals and could therefore have a negative impact on both the daily workflow and continuity of care and treatment.

Healthcare professionals are not using existing screening tools or guidelines because they do not feel obliged and are not required to do so

-Does their place of work have clear guidelines for routines regarding nutrition and documentation within and between the three groups of healthcare professionals?

-How do the different healthcare professionals’ experience enabling the retrieval and use of nutritional screening tools?

Factors that affect daily work and quality of care (context/setting): The performance and execution of nutritional related activities could be influenced by the fact that observations and interventions are done in the patients’ home, lacking, for instance, a weighing scale.

-Do healthcare professionals consider the context of their workplace as an obstacle?

-Does their workplace prioritize nutrition and documentation in their daily work?

Factors that affect daily work and quality of care (collaboration between different healthcare providers): Malnutrition or nutritional issues are often overlooked, because healthcare professionals are not aware of their specific role and collaboration with other caregivers in nutritional care and subsequent documentation.

Variation in healthcare professionals’ nutritional routines and documentation practices could influence both the workflow and continuity of care and treatment.

-How do healthcare professionals with various educational levels describe and consider their nutritional care responsibilities?

-How do healthcare professionals with various educational levels talk, describe and consider their responsibilities regarding documentation?

-Do they describe or outline any ambiguities or disagreements in terms of their routines and practices?