Observational studyPrimary health care research & development2020
Tracking and treating malnutrition: a retrospective observational study of the nutritional status of vulnerable people accessing a meals-on-wheels (MOW) service.
Observational study in Primary health care research & development, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 5 citations in OpenAlex.
- "It's No Choking Matter!": The Search for Evidence Relating to Home-Delivered, Texture-Modified Meals - A Systematic Literature Review.Current nutrition reports · 2026Pooled it
- The Nutritional Issue of Older People Receiving Home-Delivered Meals: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in nutrition · 2021Pooled it
- Food insecurity in later life: a food security framework to support preventative action.The Proceedings of the Nutrition Society · 2025Review
- Meals on wheels services and the food security of older people.Health & social care in the community · 2022Article
- Local area public sector spending and nutritional anaemia hospital admissions in England: a longitudinal ecological study.BMJ open · 2022Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
aimThe aims of the study were to describe the characteristics of meals-on-wheels (MOW) recipients, including prevalence of malnutrition amongst those who have received input from the Nutrition and Wellbeing Service (NWS) and to explore whether the NWS had an impact on the nutritional status (malnutrition risk) of recipients over time.
backgroundSupport services, for example, MOW, play an important role in the prevention and treatment of malnutrition in the community. In the UK, MOW services are under threat. However, little is known about how they support the health and well-being of older people. This study reports on the characteristics of MOW recipients and investigates change in nutritional status over time.
methodsA retrospective study of MOW recipients of nutritional concern who were offered a check through the NWS was conducted. Demographic, social and health information were gathered at the initial visit. Nutritional status (risk of malnutrition) was obtained using the validated Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST), at the initial and subsequent visits. Changes over time were investigated for recipients receiving at least two follow-up visits.
findingsAn initial visit was made to 399 MOW recipients, and 148 recipients had two or more follow-up visits. At initial screening, 177 (44%) of recipients were at medium or high risk of malnutrition. Frailty was significantly related to malnutrition risk (P = 0.049). At follow-up, there was a reduction in malnutrition risk.
conclusionsThe MOW service was associated with a reduction in malnutrition risk. By offering well-being visits within a MOW service, malnutrition can be identified early. Future studies into how MOW services might delay or prevent the need for support from acute health services and social care are warranted.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.