Process / pipelinenutritional assessment

Malnutrition Screening Tool (MST)

The Malnutrition Screening Tool (MST), developed by Michelle Ferguson and colleagues in 1999, is a brief, validated screening instrument designed to identify hospitalized patients at risk for malnutrition. The tool consists of two simple questions about recent unintentional weight loss and reduced food intake, yielding a quick numerical score. Since its publication, the MST has become widely adopted in acute hospitals, residential aged care facilities, and community settings as a rapid, reliable first-line screen for nutritional risk.

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Sources

  1. Ferguson, M., Capra, S., Bauer, J., & Banks, M. (1999). Development of a valid and reliable malnutrition screening tool for adult acute hospital patients. Nutrition, 15(6), 458-464. DOI: 10.1016/S0899-9007(99)00084-2
  2. Stratton, R. J., Hackston, A., Longmore, D., Dixon, R., Price, S., Stroud, M., King, B., & Elia, M. (2004). Malnutrition in hospital outpatients and inpatients: prevalence, concurrent validity and ease of use of the 'Malnutrition Screening Tool' (MST) for adults. Br J Nutr, 92(5), 799-808. DOI: 10.1079/BJN20041258

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Referenced by

ScholarGateMalnutrition Screening Tool (Malnutrition Screening Tool (MST)). Retrieved 2026-06-04 from https://scholargate.app/en/nursing/malnutrition-screening-tool