The Challenge of Appropriate Identification and Treatment of Starvation, Sarcopenia, and Cachexia: A Survey of Australian Dietitians
Table 1
Details of online questionnaire used to survey DAA members on perspectives on malnutrition.
Topic
Maximum number of questions
Response format
Examples of content
Demographic questions
11
Yes/no tick boxes; 2–8 tick boxes per question; space for comments
Age; gender; number of years of experience; employment status
Diagnosis of malnutrition
10
Yes/no tick boxes; 2–16 tick boxes per question; space for comments
ICD criteria for malnutrition; choice of markers for diagnosis of malnutrition; use of the terms starvation, sarcopenia and/or cachexia; choice of markers for diagnosis of starvation, sarcopenia and/or cachexia, if used
Case studies
3
4 tick boxes per question; space for comments
One case study for each of starvation, sarcopenia and cachexia
Treatment of malnutrition
12
Choice of 10 possible interventions to be ranked 1–10; yes/no tick boxes; 5-6 tick boxes per question; space for comments
Choice of possible interventions; further questions on specific interventions: appetite stimulants, fish oil, and resistance training
Barriers to effective treatment of malnutrition
1
Open-ended; space for comment
Guidelines for treatment of malnutrition
3
Yes/no tick boxes; space for comment
DAA guidelines; other guidelines used
Total
40†
†A further two questions asked the participant about their desire to continue in order to ascertain the correct path through the questionnaire. DAA: Dietitians Association of Australia.