The RELISH Study v1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The RELISH Study: A prospective observational study to assess compliance and palatability of foRtifiEd porridge compared to standard LIquid-baSed oral nutritional supplementation in Hospitalised older adults with malnutrition
IRAS ID
316234
Contact name
Stephen Lim
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
R&D Department, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 8 months, 28 days
Research summary
One in ten people over the age of 65 experience malnutrition (undernutrition). An important strategy to manage undernutrition in hospital is the use of oral nutritional supplementation (ONS). ONS are energy and nutrient dense products designed to increase energy and protein intake. Normally, hospital patients are offered drink based ONS. However, research indicated that over half of older adults in hospital did not like the drinks. It is important to explore new ONS products that older adults like the taste of (palatability) and are keen to eat/drink (compliance) to improve nutrient intake. The aim of this study is to investigate the palatability and compliance of a new porridge ONS compared to drink based ONS in hospital.
Fifty malnourished older adults (65 years or older) in hospital will be invited to participate. After completing informed consent participants will be given ONS two times per day for 4 days in addition to their normal meals. Palatability and compliance of a new porridge and a standard drink will be compared in a crossover design, in which participants will have one of the ONS products for the first 2 days of testing and then they will swap to the other ONS product for the last 2 days of testing. The order of ONS products given to participants will be randomised to reduce order effects.
We will weigh leftovers from each ONS tested to work out how much of the product participants have eaten/drunk (compliance). We will also ask participants to complete a questionnaire to rate the palatability of each ONS. We will interview 10-15 patients and staff to explore if there are any barriers or any facilitators to the use of the ONS products in hospital. We hope our findings help inform effective ONS use in hospital to support older adults experiencing malnutrition.
REC name
London - Surrey Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/LO/0898
Date of REC Opinion
15 Dec 2022
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion