Studies have shown that computer-based training in eating and nutrition for hospital nursing staff increased the likelihood that patients at risk of undernutrition would receive nutritional interventions. This article seeks to provide understanding from the perspective of nursing staff of conceptually important areas for computer-based nutritional training, and their relative importance to nutritional care, following completion of the training. Group concept mapping, an integrated qualitative and quantitative methodology, was used to conceptualize important factors relating to the training experiences through four focus groups (n = 43), statement sorting (n = 38), and importance rating (n = 32), followed by multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis. Sorting of 38 statements yielded four clusters. These clusters (number of statements) were as follows: personal competence and development (10), practice close care development (10), patient safety (9), and awareness about the nutrition care process (9). First and second clusters represented "the learning organization," and third and fourth represented "quality improvement." These findings provide a conceptual basis for understanding the importance of training in eating and nutrition, which contributes to a learning organization and quality improvement, and can be linked to and facilitates person-centered nutritional care and patient safety.

Rationale

A previous short-term study showed that a computer-based training in eating and nutrition increased the probability for hospital inpatients at undernutrition (UN) risk to receive nutritional treatment and care without increasing overtreatment (providing nutritional treatment to those not at UN risk).

The aim of this study was to investigate if a computer-based training in eating and nutrition influences the precision in nutritional treatment and care in a longer-term perspective.

Method

A preintervention and postintervention study was conducted with a cross-sectional design at each time points (baseline and 7 months postintervention). Hospital inpatients > 18 years old at baseline (2013; n = 201) and follow-up (2014; n = 209) were included. A computer-based training was implemented during a period of 3 months with 297 (84%) participating registered nurses and nurse assistants. Undernutrition risk was screened for using the minimal eating observation and nutrition form-version II. Nutritional treatment and care was recorded using a standardized protocol.

Results

The share of patients at UN risk that received energy-dense food (+ 25.2%) and dietician consultations (+ 22.3%) increased between baseline and follow-up, while fewer received oral nutritional supplements (-18.9%). "Overtreatment" (providing nutritional treatment to those not at UN risk) did not change between baseline and follow-up.

Conclusion

The computer-based training increased the provision of energy-dense food and dietician consultations to patients at UN risk without increasing overtreatment of patients without UN risk.

RATIONALE: This study aimed to explore whether a computer-based training in eating and nutrition for hospital nursing staff can influence the precision in nutritional treatment and care.

METHOD: A pre-intervention and post-intervention study was conducted with a cross-sectional design at each time point. The settings were one intervention (IH) and two control hospitals (CH1 and CH2). Hospital inpatients >18 years old at baseline (2012; n = 409) and follow-up (2014; n = 456) were included. The computer-based training was implemented during a period of 3 months in the IH with 297 (84%) participating registered nurses and nurse assistants. Nutritional risk was screened for using the Minimal Eating Observation and Nutrition Form. Nutritional treatment and care was recorded using a standardized protocol RESULTS: In the IH, there was an increase in the share of patients at UN risk that received energy-dense food (+16.7%) and dietician consultations (+17.3%) between baseline and follow-up, while fewer received feeding assistance (-16.2%). There was an increase in the share of patients at UN risk that received energy-dense food (+19.5%), a decrease in oral nutritional supplements (-30.5%) and food-registrations (-30.6%) in CH1, whereas there were no changes in CH2. 'Overtreatment' (providing nutritional treatment to those not at UN risk) was significantly higher in CH2 (52.7%) than in CH1 (14.3%) and in the IH (25.2%) at follow-up.

CONCLUSION: The computer-based training seemed to increase the probability for patients at UN risk in the IH to receive nutritional treatment without increasing overtreatment.

There is a high drop-out rate in distance courses. One of the reasons for this is that students miss the informal and collegial contact with other students that can be provided in on-campus courses. The presented study is based on an assumption that if students could be promoted to give each other more personal online feedback the students would also take initiatives to informal and collegial contact via collaboration tools. The presented experiments demonstrate that a combination of assignments during distance courses will highly increase the amount of spontaneous feedback between students.

Sketching is a most central activity within most design projects. But what happens if we adopt the ideas of collaborative design and invite participants that are not trained to sketch in to the design process, how can they participate in this central activity? This paper offers an introduction to how design material based on ethnography can be understood as sketching material. It suggests a process where the sketching tools are constructed within the scope of the project. Some practical details of how the design material has been co-authored will be explored. Finally, this paper shows how the design material has been used to co-author possible futures within the scope of design sessions.