Malnutrition and prescribing of oral nutritional supplements in the Community setting: The ONSPres Research Study-An overview for Pharmacists

Oral nutritional supplements (ONS) are an effective treatment for those who are malnourished or at high risk of malnutrition alongside food-fortification and dietary counselling (food-first advice).Older adults, in particular, are at increased risk of becoming malnourished due to age-related physiological and psychosocial deterioration in health status and chronic or acute disease . 

ONSPres is a Health Research Board-funded research project led by Associate Professor Clare Corish in the School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science, University College Dublin, that is investigating a multidisciplinary approach to malnutrition management and prescription of ONS in the community/primary care setting in Ireland.This webinar will discuss the rationale for and use of ONS in this setting using data from key stakeholder interviews and focus groups along with analysis of Primary Care and Eligibility Reimbursement Services (PCERS) data. 

An output of the ONSPres project is the development of an e-learning module on how to manage malnutrition in the community setting with evaluation to date overwhelmingly positive.The e-learning module is hosted by the Irish Institute of Pharmacy (IIOP) and should be available to pharmacists and other multidisciplinary healthcare professional team members within the coming year.