International hospital accreditation and clinical nutrition service in acute care hospitals in South Korea: results of a nationwide cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Beginning in 2007, 29 hospitals in South Korea have received accreditation from Joint Commission International (JCI). The present study aimed to identify differences in clinical nutrition service provisions between JCI accredited acute care hospitals and non-accredited acute care hospitals. A survey questionnaire was sent to all 43 acute care hospitals in South Korea.

METHODS: A total of 35 sets of clinical nutrition service surveys, 234 sets of clinical dietitian job satisfaction surveys, and five-day daily work logs from 129 clinical dietitians were received. We used Fisher's exact test and independent t-test to analyze differences between acute care hospitals based on JCI accreditation.

STUDY DESIGN: Nationwide cross-sectional survey.

RESULTS: JCI accredited acute care hospitals (N=8) showed a higher, but not significantly higher, nutritional intervention rate of 12.7% among malnourished patients, compared with 7.0% in non-JCI accredited acute care hospitals (N=27). Analysis of work hours of clinical dietitians indicated time spent on direct care was higher (p<0.05), while time spent on outpatient care was lower (p<0.05) among JCI accredited acute care hospitals relative to non-JCI accredited acute care hospitals.

CONCLUSIONS: Accreditation from JCI has a positive influence in the advancement of not only the hospital services, but also clinical nutrition services.