Data collection

Everything you need to set up your organisation and start collecting data is in this section of the site.

Before proceeding, please note that this data collection has been primarily designed for use in organisations which use 'MUST' as a nutritional screening tool. The collection cannot be fully completed by those organisations using other nutrition screening tools.

This section of the site takes you through each element of the data collection process:

Check that your organisation is registered for data collection
If your organisation is not registered for the collection, click here and click the 'Request org' button. The site administrators will enable your organisation and link the e-mail address you registered with to it
If you are the nominated 'BAPEN Nutritional Care Tool' lead for your organisation you can manage all the users within your organisation through the 'User administration' menu. You decide who can view and collect the data, and who can set up new wards or teams, just by adding an e-mail address!
View, add and manage the data collections for all your wards/teams through the 'Collection Management' menu
Take a look at the definitions, rationale and other key information for the data items we are collecting using the 'Definitions and Data Entry Guide'
Check out the web-based user guide, helping to answer all your 'how to questions' about data collection and user management through the 'User administration guide' menu

We hope that this tool is easy to set up and use within your organisation. If you have any problems or find any issues that you would like to raise, please head over to the forum and add your comment to the conversation.

Details: Category: Data collection

If you have any queries or issues please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Exclusions

The following groups are excluded from the BAPEN Nutritional Care Tool data collection:

Patients being cared for in their own homes
Patients being cared for in an outpatient (clinic) only setting
Patients under the age of 18 or under the care of paediatric team

Demographics, organisational and clinical details

Organisation

Description	The overarching organisation in which the survey is being undertaken (e.g. NHS Trust)
Construction (if applicable)
Rationale	Recording organisation name allows data to be analysed to a level at which variations can be identified and ensures appropriate questions appear in the tool (for example, if the organisation is an acute hospital, questions regarding the specialty are included but these are excluded for care homes
Instructions for data entry	You do not need to enter your organisation name, this is automatically generated based on your log-in

Current ward/team/area

Description	The name of the ward, team or area in which or under whose care the survey is being undertaken
Construction (if applicable)
Rationale	Improvement and change is most effective when it starts at the front-line of care and goes from the bottom up rather than imposed from the top down. The inclusion of a ward/team/area name allows data collected via the BAPEN Nutritional Care Tool to be analysed at a level that is meaningful to staff working within these groupings, and can potentially be discussed or displayed in patient areas with the same degree of import.
Instructions for data entry	Ward/team/area names are set up and linked to your log-in. You may have multiple wards/teams/areas linked to your log-in and will need to ensure that you enter data under the correct ward/team/area.

Specialty

Description	The main specialty of the ward/team/area that is undertaking the survey
Construction (if applicable)
Rationale	Understanding of nutritional care at the specialty level allows identification both of variation between different specialties as well as the ability to identify specific areas within which to target improvement.
Instructions for data entry	Select the appropriate specialty from the drop down menu. If the ward or team has more than one specialty area select the specialty where the volume of activity is greatest, or select the ‘mixed specialty option’.

Date of collection

Description	The date on which the survey has been carried out
Construction (if applicable)
Rationale	The BAPEN Nutritional Care Tool is designed to help track change over time. The date of collection allows this time series analysis to be undertaken.
Instructions for data entry	The current date is shown automatically, but can be overwritten if a different date is required. The format should be dd/mm/yyyy; the web tool will not accept dates entered which are not in this format.

Admitting ward/team/area

Description	The name of the ward, team or area in which or under whose care the patient was first admitted to the care setting.
Construction (if applicable)
Rationale	Nutritional screening is primarily initially undertaken on admission (or within 24 hours of admission). In order to track the provision of effective re-screening at appropriate intervals and effective nutritional care throughout the patient’s journey within the organisation it is useful to understand where the initial care was provided and to track how many times patients are screened during their admission
Instructions for data entry	As for ward/team/area above.

Age group

Description	The patient’s age group
Construction (if applicable)	Age grouped into 3 groups; 18-64, 65-74 and 75+
Rationale	Understanding nutritional processes and outcomes by age can provide important intelligence in deciding where to focus improvement efforts
Instructions for data entry	Select appropriate option from drop down menu.

Feeding route

Description	The route through which the patient receives nutrition
Construction (if applicable)	Options presented: Oral food & drink, altered textures, food & oral supplements, enteral, parenteral
Rationale	Understanding the route through which patients receive nutrition is critical to assessing whether or not they have received adequate nutritional care and assessment
Instructions for data entry	Select all options that apply to the patient from the options presented

Date of admission to care setting

Description	The date on which the patient was admitted to the care setting in which the survey is being carried out
Construction (if applicable)
Rationale	The date of admission is used to calculate length of stay (LoS) by subtracting it from the date of collection. The LoS is an important variable in breaking down the data from the BAPEN Nutritional Care Tool to be more meaningful.
Instructions for data entry	Select the date from the calendar pop up or type the date into the tool directly. The format should be dd/mm/yyyy; the web tool will not accept dates entered which are not in this format.

Setting

Description	The type of care setting in which the survey is being undertaken
Construction (if applicable)
Rationale	Data from national screening weeks suggests that there are differences in malnutrition rates between different settings. The BAPEN Nutritional Care Tool has been designed, as far as possible, to be applicable across multiple care settings, with exceptions noted above. Recording the setting provides the ability to assess variation between different settings in order to better understand the scope for change in and improvement and identify the differing challenges in each setting.
Instructions for data entry	Select the most appropriate setting from a drop down menu

Patient diagnosis

Description	The primary diagnosis for the patient being surveyed
Construction (if applicable)
Rationale	Understanding of nutritional care at the diagnosis level allows identification both of variation between different diagnoses as well as the ability to identify specific areas within which to target improvement. Recording diagnosis and its attendant detail (see below) also allows us to exclude specific cohorts of patients if required.
Instructions for data entry	Select the appropriate high level diagnosis from the drop down menu. You will be prompted to enter more detail dependent on your selection. You will only be prompted to enter data for this variable if you have selected 'Acute Hospital' under the setting options.

Diagnosis detail

Description	Diagnosis detail for the patient being surveyed
Construction (if applicable)
Rationale	Understanding of nutritional care at the diagnosis level allows identification both of variation between different diagnoses as well as the ability to identify specific areas within which to target improvement. Recording diagnosis and its attendant detail also allows us to exclude specific cohorts of patients if required.
Instructions for data entry	Select the appropriate diagnosis detail from the drop down menu. You will be prompted to select detail from a specific list of diagnostic details based on your selections under 'patient diagnosis'.

Process details

Screening on entry to the care setting

Description	The individual was screened with a validated screening tool (‘MUST’) on entry to care setting
Construction (if applicable)
Rationale	The NICE Guidance (CG32); Nutrition Support in Adults (2006) makes clear recommendations regarding the screening of patients in care settings (e.g. hospital, care homes) and in primary care. By recording the completion of screening on admission to the care setting it is possible to assess compliance to this element of the NICE Guidance / Quality standard.
Instructions for data entry	Select ‘yes’ or ‘no’ or ‘not applicable’ from the drop down list

Re-screening at an interval appropriate to the care setting

Description	The individual was re-screened with a validated screening tool (‘MUST’) at the time interval (e.g. weekly, monthly) appropriate to the to care setting
Construction (if applicable)
Rationale	The NICE Guidance (CG32); Nutrition Support in Adults (2006) and the ‘MUST’ screening tool make clear recommendations regarding the re-screening of patients in care settings. By recording the completion of re-screening at intervals appropriate to the care setting it is possible to assess compliance to this element of the NICE Guidance / ‘MUST’ protocol.
Instructions for data entry	Select ‘yes’, ‘no’ or ‘not applicable’ from the drop down list. If a patient has been in the surveying care setting for less than one week (not the ward/team/area), the 'not applicable' option should be selected.

Documented nutritional care plan

Description	Individuals found to be at risk on last nutritional screening have a documented nutrition care plan appropriate to the organisation and setting
Construction (if applicable)
Rationale	The ‘MUST’ screening tool makes clear recommendations regarding the development and implementation of an individualised nutritional care plan for patients found to be at risk of malnutrition. By recording the documented nutritional care plan it is possible to begin to assess implementation of improved nutritional care. However, we are very aware of the ease of ‘ticking a box’ and we ask that on completing this question, the care plan is appropriately reviewed.
Instructions for data entry	Select ‘yes’ or ‘no’ or ‘not applicable’ from the drop down list

Nutritional care plan being followed

Description	An appropriate nutrition care plan is being followed or has been offered to the individual
Construction (if applicable)
Rationale	We know from audits of nutritional care that screening and care planning is often completed/ documented but not then implemented. We fully appreciate the complexities of this question but it is an attempt to determine to what extent the nutritional care plans are implemented. By recording the implementation of the nutritional care plan it is possible to begin to assess improvements in the nutritional care delivered. As above, we are very aware of the ease of ‘ticking a box’ to indicate that the care is being delivered (when it may be variable) and we ask that on completing this question, the care plan and food and fluid record charts are appropriately reviewed.
Instructions for data entry	Select ‘no’, ‘some elements, ‘most elements’ , ‘yes’ or ‘not applicable’

Outcome details

Current weight

Description	Patient’s weight in kilograms recorded at time of survey
Construction (if applicable)
Rationale	Weight is considered a reasonable and easily measured outcome measure when considering the quality of nutritional care, though has significant limitations which must be noted. Combined with current height this allows calculation of Body Mass Index (BMI) which is a critical element in calculating the 'MUST' score for the patient. For more detail see: 'MUST' Explanatory Booklet
Instructions for data entry	Record patient’s weight as a whole number. If no weight is available enter “N/A”.

Estimation of current weight

Description	Indication of how current weight (at time of survey) has been recorded
Construction (if applicable)
Rationale	Weight is a critical factor in assessing for risk of malnutrition and it is important to understand the accuracy and quality of the measurements taken. For more detail see: 'MUST' Explanatory Booklet
Instructions for data entry	Select 'Recalled,', 'Estimated', 'Calculated from subjective criteria', 'Actual weight', 'Patient weighed at time of survey'

Unplanned weight loss in past 3-6 months

Description	Unplanned patient weight loss recorded in the most recent 3-6 months in kilograms
Construction (if applicable)
Rationale	Weight loss is considered a reasonable and easily measured outcome measure when considering the quality of nutritional care, though has significant limitations which must be noted. Unplanned weight loss is a critical element in calculating the 'MUST' score for the patient. For more detail see: MUST Explanatory Booklet
Instructions for data entry	Record patient’s weight in kilograms. If no weight is available enter “N/A”.

Estimation of weight loss in past 3-6 months

Description	Indication of how unplanned weight loss in past 3-6 months has been recorded
Construction (if applicable)
Rationale	Weight is a critical factor in assessing for risk of malnutrition and it is important to understand the accuracy and quality of the measurements taken. Using this measure alongside the current weight enables calculation and categorisation of weight loss to help take into account fluctuations of weight due to causes other than poor nutrition or poor nutritional care. For more detail see: 'MUST' Explanatory Booklet
Instructions for data entry	Select 'Recalled', 'Estimated', 'Calculated from subjective criteria', 'Actual weight', 'Patient weighed at time of survey'

Patient's height

Description	Patient's current height in metres
Construction (if applicable)
Rationale	Combined with current weight this allows calculation of Body Mass Index (BMI) which is a critical element in calculating the 'MUST' score for the patient. For more detail see: 'MUST' Explanatory Booklet
Instructions for data entry	Record patient’s height in metres. If no height is available enter “N/A”.

Estimation of current height

Description	Indication of how current height (at time of survey) has been recorded
Construction (if applicable)
Rationale	Height is a critical factor in calculating BMI and thus assessing for risk of malnutrition and it is important to understand the accuracy and quality of the measurements taken. For more detail see: 'MUST' Explanatory Booklet
Instructions for data entry	Select 'Recalled,', 'Estimated', 'Calculated from subjective criteria', 'Actual height', 'Patient measured at time of survey'

Impact of acute illness

Description	Has the patient been acutely ill AND has there been, or likely to be, no nutritional intake for more than 5 days
Construction (if applicable)
Rationale	If the subject is currently affected by an acute patho-physiological or psychological condition, and there has been no nutritional intake or likelihood of no intake for more than 5 days, they are likely to be at nutritional risk. Such patients include those who are critically ill, those who have swallowing difficulties (e.g. after stroke), or head injuries or are undergoing gastrointestinal surgery. This consideration of the impact of acute disease is a critical element in calculating the 'MUST' score for the patient. For more detail see: 'MUST' Explanatory Booklet
Instructions for data entry	Select ‘Yes’ or ‘No’

MUST score on admission

Description	The ‘MUST’ score that has been recorded on admission to the care setting
Construction (if applicable)	Score as per the ‘MUST’ screening tool. For more details see: MUST toolkit
Rationale	'MUST' is the dominant screening tool for adults in care, with some specialty exclusions which have specialist screening tool (e.g. renal, liver and paediatric specialties). The risk of malnutrition is, in this context, considered the most effective and reliable measure indicating the need for nutritional care. The initial risk assessment on entry to the care setting provides a baseline from which to assess change in nutritional status, which is assumed to be directly linked to the quality of nutritional care, although it is appreciated that this is multifactorial.
Instructions for data entry	Select the appropriate option from the drop down menu; if the patient has not been screened before due to recent admission, select 'This is patient's first screen'. If the patient has not been screened or the score is not documented or known select 'Not known/done'. Otherwise select the relevant score for the patient on the scale of 0 to 6. The score entered should be that which was first recorded on entry to the care setting, as opposed to the specific ward or team undertaking the survey (i.e. the admitting ward).

Patient experience: receiving food drink or nutritional care needed

Description	Has the patient received all the food and drink and/or nutritional care they have needed
Construction (if applicable)
Rationale	The experience of the patient is crucial in ensuring that all services are delivered effectively and in a truly patient centered way. Whilst the measurement of patient experience of nutritional care is a relatively untested area, and fraught with complexity, the inclusion of experiential questions will help to ensure that the patient plays a crucial part in the assessment and improvement of nutritional care.
Instructions for data entry	Select the appropriate option from the drop down menu, 'Yes', 'Yes to some extent' or 'No'. Is is very important that this question is asked of the patient and their views recorded. If the patient is unable to answer for any reason, or it is not felt clinically appropriate to ask the question at that time, a carer or relative may be asked if present. If this is not possible select the option 'Patient unable to answer'.

Patient experience: receiving help to eat and drink

Description	Has the patient received assistance to eat and drink if required
Construction (if applicable)
Rationale	The experience of the patient is crucial in ensuring that all services are delivered effectively and in a truly patient centered way. Whilst the measurement of patient experience of nutritional care is a relatively untested area, and fraught with complexity, the inclusion of experiential questions will help to ensure that the patient plays a crucial part in the assessment and improvement of nutritional care.
Instructions for data entry	Select the appropriate option from the drop down menu, 'Yes', 'Yes to some extent', 'No' or 'Not applicable (I haven't needed any help)'. It is very important that this question is asked of the patient and their views recorded. If the patient is unable to answer for any reason, or it is not felt clinically appropriate to ask the question at that time, a carer or relative may be asked if present. If this is not possible select the option 'Patient unable to answer'.

Patient experience: receiving help to eat and drink, additional information

Description	If the patient did not feel they received the assistance to eat and drink they required, record the reasons for this
Construction (if applicable)
Rationale	The experience of the patient is crucial in ensuring that all services are delivered effectively and in a truly patient centered way. Whilst the measurement of patient experience of nutritional care is a relatively untested area, and fraught with complexity, the inclusion of experiential questions will help to ensure that the patient plays a crucial part in the assessment and improvement of nutritional care. This additional information will provide insight into issues that may affect the ability of services to assist patients in accessing nutrition.
Instructions for data entry	Free text question; enter details up to 100 characters describing the reason why the patient was not able to received assistance to eat and/or drink.

Data collection

Guidance