Extending the Validation of SCREEN to Persons Living With Dementia or in Retirement Homes

Older adults (≥ 55 years) who do not eat enough nutritious food are at risk of malnutrition. Malnutrition can lead to frailty, hospitalization, poor quality of life, and death. SCREEN (Seniors in the Community Risk Evaluation for Eating and Nutrition) is the leading nutrition risk screening tool for cognitively well older adults living in the community. The purpose of this study is to determine if SCREEN can be used to find nutrition risk among older adults diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment or dementia (i.e., MCI-D) or those with a MoCA \< 26 living in the community and persons living in retirement homes. SCREEN and other nutrition and health measures will be completed in 600 older adults (300 living in retirement homes with or without MCI-D, and 300 living with MCI-D in the community). SCREEN will be completed twice to determine reliability, and persons with MCI-D will have their results compared to those of a caregiver who completes it on their behalf. A dietitian's assessment and rating of nutrition risk will be used as the gold-standard to determine validity.