Validation of the STAMP Screening Tool For Pediatric Nutritional Risk

Background: Insufficient nutritional intake, with or without concomitant morbidity, leads to weight loss or insufficient weight gain, is related to an increase in morbidity and mortality and exposes the child to medical complications. In addition, obesity is also related to complications during hospitalization and complications in general, and therefore early identification of these children is extremely important. Studies show that malnutrition is frequent among children upon hospitalization, where the risk of pediatric nutritional deterioration increases, even in the presence of mild stress factors. This risk is frequent mainly among children that arrive at the hospital with an initial poor nutritional status. Improving the nutritional status as part of the standard of care already at the ambulatory setting might improve the prognosis of children when ill. In Israel, nutritional screening in not conducted among children since there is no proper validated screening tool. Study objectives: To test the accuracy of the STAMP Screening Tool for pediatric nutritional risk which is designed to be used by nurses, and to compare it to a complete nutritional assessment conducted by a dietician in Clalit Health Care Services clinics. In addition, the investigators wish to examine the effects of using a screening tool for nutritional risk on the medical staff's attention to the nutritional status; this is measured by the collection of nutritional status-related data and their recording in the patient file.

Methods: 100 boys and girls aged 1 to 6, attending Clalit Health Care Services Pediatric Centers, will undergo an assessment using the STAMP Tool; a questionnaire including 3 questions with a summary score, according to which the nutritional risk level shall be determined. These children shall also undergo a complete dietician assessment in order to examine the validity of the STAMP Tool. In addition, 150 files shall be reviewed in the beginning of the research and after 6 months in order to estimate the change in medical staff's attention to nutritional status, by way of noting relevant diagnoses, reference to nutritional status- related tests and recording of anthropometric measurements.

A statistical analysis to examine the validity of the STAMP Tool shall be carried out using the kappa test (K) (30). The effect of the STAMP Tool use shall be calculated using the chi square test.