Disease-related malnutrition is prevalent, negatively impacts patient outcomes, and is under-recognized and under-treated in Canadian hospitals. Policy-level action related to malnutrition is lacking in Canada and globally, which inhibits capacity to provide optimal nutrition care for all patients. CANDReaM (Creating Alliances Nationally to address Disease Related Malnutrition) is an initiative supported by the Canadian Malnutrition Taskforce that seeks to understand and advance the malnutrition policy landscape in Canada and contribute to the global movement for malnutrition care as a human right across sectors. While this policy work is underway, the AMC (Advancing Malnutrition Care) initiative is supporting the spread and scale of improved malnutrition prevention, detection, and treatment practices across Canadian hospitals using a mentor-champion model. Experiences of mentors and champions implementing practice change, and the impact on nutrition care in hospitals are being evaluated by the AMC program. At the provincial level, Alberta Health Services (AHS) is prioritizing malnutrition care across healthcare settings. In acute care, implementation of a consensus and evidence-based nutrition care pathway (NCP) has been integrated into our provincial (AHS) electronic medical record enabling rapid audit feedback about the use and impact of the NCP. Learning objectives: 1. Gain an understanding of the current policy landscape related to malnutrition in Canada and globally. 2. Learn new strategies to advocate for improved malnutrition care in your region/setting. 3. Gain an understanding of how to evaluate a nutrition care pathway using a provincial electronic medical record dashboard.
Dr. Lisa Martin is a research and evaluation leader dedicated to advancing the field of nutrition and its impact on health outcomes. Dr. Martin is a Registered Dietitian and currently serves as Research & Evaluation Lead within the Nutrition Services, Provincial Strategy, Standards & Practice team at Alberta Health Services. In this role, she provides leadership, direction, and technical expertise to support evidence-based nutrition practice. Dr. Martin holds a Ph.D. in Nutrition and Metabolism from the University of Alberta, and is a prior recipient of the CNS Clinical Nutrition Fellowship and the PhD Dissertation Award. Her research interests are diverse, encompassing the use of real-world data to study malnutrition, evaluate nutrition care practices, and advance the development of diagnostic criteria and techniques to identify and diagnose individuals with malnutrition. Dr. Martin has expertise in quantitative research methods, including the use of large clinical databases to expand our understanding about the impact of nutritional status on health outcomes. She has worked collaboratively with national and international teams to collect and harmonize cancer-related data to support research and has a passion for putting data to work to make an impact preventing, diagnosing, and treating malnutrition.