The feasibility of an education video for preventing disease-related malnutrition among home-living older adults after discharge from a surgical hospital department — a randomised controlled feasibility trial

TL;DR

This study tested if an educational video could help older adults improve their nutrition after hospital discharge, finding it feasible but with some challenges.

Contribution

The study evaluates the feasibility of using an educational video to prevent malnutrition in older adults post-hospital discharge.

Findings

The recruitment rate was lower than the target, averaging 3 patients every 2 weeks.

The education video was successfully delivered, but access and retention challenges were noted.

Data collection on nutritional indicators was feasible with some adjustments.

Abstract

Older adults can have limited knowledge about their specific needs for protein and energy and the importance of nutrition for physical functioning after hospital discharge. This study aimed to examine the feasibility of recruitment, technology access, and data collection procedures in an educational video aimed at improving the nutritional status of live-at-home older adults after discharge from a surgical hospital department.

This seven-month single-centre, two-arm feasibility trial was conducted in a rural area in northern Norway from May 2022 to January 2023. The participants were live-at-home older adults 65 years of age or older, who were recruited from three surgical departments in a non-university hospital. The participants were randomised using a free web service. The intervention group received access to a six-minute nutrition education video focusing on energy and protein-rich diets for malnourished older adults. The control group did not receive any intervention. Data were collected on the study feasibility recruitment rate (goal: 5 people every 2 weeks over 28 weeks), retention rate (goal: 82%), and access to the video (goal: 90%) as well as the feasibility of—collecting data on the participants’ nutritional knowledge, body mass index, mid-arm circumference, triceps skinfold thickness, mid-arm muscle circumference, and hand grip strength.

Forty-four participants were randomised to the intervention group (n = 24) or the control group (n = 20). The recruitment rate was, on average, 3 patients every 2 weeks. The overall retention rate was 68%, respectively 71% (17), in the intervention group and 65% (13) in the control group. Collecting the desired data was feasible with specific muscle strength and fat mass adjustments. No adverse events related to participation in the study were observed.

Delivery of the education video was feasible. However, the study revealed methodological challenges with recruitment and access to the video that must be addressed before a full-scale trial. The results indicate that nutrition education videos can be a good source of knowledge and contribute to a better nutritional situation for older malnourished adults. Still, it is necessary to conduct a full-scale trial in the future to conclude whether, or not, the nutrition education video’s is effective.

This study was retrospectively registered in ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT05860140.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40814-025-01745-y.

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