The ESISPP Association sent a Strategy to the Government of Russia, the main goal of which is to provide the population with specialized medical nutrition.
One of the key tasks of the state, which can be implemented until 2030, is the organization of nutritional support for citizens. Clinical nutrition is an essential part of therapy and influences the patient’s recovery.
In the law “On the basics of protecting the health of citizens in the Russian Federation,” Article 39 is devoted to therapeutic nutrition. One of its paragraphs states: “Specialized products of medical nutrition are food products with an established chemical composition, energy value and physical properties, proven therapeutic effect, which have a specific effect on the restoration of disturbed or lost body functions as a result of a disease, prevention of these disorders, and also to increase the adaptive capabilities of the organism. ”
For some patients, the only source of food intake is specialized food. For example, according to our statistics, up to 85% of cancer patients suffer from a lack of nutritional support. Every fifth such patient dies not from disease, but from hunger. Because a large load on the body in the form of aggressive therapy leads to a decrease in appetite and loss of body weight of the patient.
That is, nutritional support is a factor affecting the increase in the life expectancy of people with various diseases.
The Strategy proposes a list of groups of citizens, primarily in need of nutritional support:
● immobilized patients with swallowing problems;
● people with severe strokes;
● patients with brain and spinal cord injuries;
● cancer patients undergoing radiation or chemotherapy, as well as preparing for surgery;
● elderly people with chronic diseases of the nervous system – for example, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s and others;
● palliative patients of all age groups;
● patients who are indicated for tube feeding or other types of clinical nutrition for medical reasons;
● children undergoing chemotherapy, rehabilitation and rehabilitation treatment;
● children with cerebral palsy and other chronic diseases of the nervous system; children with inflammatory bowel disease; children with cystic fibrosis; with gastrostomy tubes; with short bowel syndrome and other diseases;
● patients on peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis. It is very important for such a group of patients to receive nutritional support: due to manifestations of the disease, the amount of food consumed decreases, and this leads to complications;
● patients with chronic liver failure.
The project is aimed at results that will significantly improve the duration and quality of life for people.
It is expected to increase the effectiveness of treatment and the speed of recovery of patients by providing them with nutritional support. In addition, the length of hospital stay for patients will be reduced, and the costs of long-term treatment will be much lower.
Among the tasks facing the state for the implementation of this project is, first of all, work at the level of legislation: the development and improvement of the regulatory framework. Some legal issues prevent the provision of health food to citizens.
We have identified the primary tasks that need to be addressed:
Expansion of the list of diseases in the regulatory framework for which disabled children have the right to receive specialized medical nutrition products;
Providing an opportunity to receive nutritional support not only for disabled children, but also for adult patients with disabilities;
Providing medical nutrition to patients both in the hospital and at home. Citizens must receive specialized medical nutrition and necessary medical supplies on the basis of doctors’ prescriptions.
Educational activities of the population on issues of nutritional support for patients are also very important.
For the project to be implemented, it is necessary to establish mechanisms of organization and management.
It is planned to create a unified register of citizens who need support with specialized therapeutic nutrition, and to organize social health care systems to provide such patients with all the necessary food.
There is also a lot of work to be done over the next eight years in the area of human resources – health and social workers need training, advanced training and education on the topic of specialized therapeutic nutrition.
The state also faces challenges in the field of science: conducting scientific research will contribute to the creation of a solid information base in the field of medical nutrition.
And, of course, the main factor for the success of the project is the well-functioning work of the mechanisms of the economy for the implementation of the Strategy.
On May 24, 2021, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Tatyana Golikova signed an order for a detailed consideration of the Strategy until June 18 of this year. Four departments – the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Economic Development – will deal with issues of its implementation and development.
The material was prepared by Alexandra Goryunova