Reliability of nutritional screening and assessment tools

Objective The aim of this paper is to address the design and analysis of studies for evaluating the reliability of a nutritional screening or assessment tool. Methods Statistical aspects of reliability are discussed with the non-statistician in mind. Design issues are considered in relation to numbers of raters and subjects and to the appropriateness of raters. The analysis of data to obtain a measure of reliability and its confidence interval is illustrated with examples. Practical suggestions regarding the implementation of reliability studies in the field of nutritional risk assessment are proposed. Conclusion Guidelines for the standardization of the design, analysis, and publication of results are presented.