Nutrition Risk Screening

Nutrition screening is a first step in identifying individuals at nutritional risk or with malnutrition. The OAA requires nutrition programs to provide nutrition risk screening. At a minimum, nutrition program service providers must administer the 10 questions from the Nutrition Screening Initiative Checklist (NSI Checklist, Appendix I, https://www.aafp.org/home.html ) to participants and determine their nutrition risk scores. HDNS providers may administer the NSI checklist alone or incorporate the questions into the participant assessments. The number of participants determined to be at high risk must be included in the data submitted to the AAA for the State Performance Report to the Administration on Aging. 

For participants whose screening indicates nutritional risk, service providers should suggest they bring the checklist to their doctor, dietitian or other qualified health or social service professional and ask for help to improve their nutritional health.