Nutrition Management Office

Kazuhiko Noguchi, Tomoko Suzuki, Hiroko Abe, Noriko Aoki, Saki Hoshino, Moe Nishio, Ayumi Makita, Maki Miura, Masayuki Kaneko

Introduction

The compensation for the Nutrition Diet Guidance was recognized in April 2016. The number of nutritional diet guidance calculation increased by 28% in 2016, compared with the previous year. In August 2016, we transferred the Nutritional Counseling Room to the Patient Support Research and Development Center (established in September 2016 on the 8th floor of the National Cancer Center Hospital). This made it possible to respond quickly to requests from other departments. Pancreatic cancer classes under multi-occupational collaboration, and group guidance and outpatient nutrition classes sponsored by the Nutrition Management Office were held on the same floor, which lead to the improvement of user convenience.

In 2016, the number of new interventions by the Nutrition Support Team (NST) increased to 1,844 (Table 1).

As a result, for the Nutrition Management Office, the total number of meals in 2016 was 452,161.

The patient's nutrition amount is adjusted according to the individual, considering the condition and influence of treatment.

The number of nutritional diet guidance was 1,544, and the group guidance was 981 cases.

Research activities

We conduct the research on improving the nutrition and dietary environment of cancer patients aiming to disseminate information such as proposals of menu preparations for home care patients, and hints for preventing malnutrition.

In the collaborative research, we prepared an assessment sheet so that we can suggest a diet suited for the medical condition of patients and eliminate disparities in responding to various adverse events related to the treatment. We held a workshop as an attempt and used it for case study in group work.

Education

We accepted trainees from eleven training schools (11 schools; 13 groups) for registered dietitians and provided practical training. It was performed in cooperation with universities as part of the human resource development. The NST specialized therapist certified institution clinical implementation training was conducted for in-hospital and out-hospital subjects, and six and three people were awarded a certificate of completion. We actively participated in lectures inside and outside the hospital and conducted educational activities on cancer treatment and nutrition. By acquiring knowledge through active participation in workshops and academic societies, we are making efforts to develop human resources.

Future prospects

We aim to provide effective nutrition management and nutrition counseling services, to achieve improved treatment outcomes, as well as enhance vital prognosis and patient's QOL. In addition, we try to cultivate human resources who are expected to become the core of the NST, which is involved in nutrition clinical research.

Table 1. Number of NST consultations in 2016