Nutritional Assessment

Yulang Lei, an 82-year-old Vietnamese man, was admitted to your floor with dehydration and a urinary tract infection following a fall at home. He is alert and oriented, but weak. He appears frail. His admission history includes the following. He lives alone; his wife died 6 months ago. He states he ran a traditional Vietnamese family, unlike his children, who are married and have now moved away. His wife did all the cooking and he hasn’t had much of an appetite since she died. He eats rice and some vegetables, but rarely “bothers to cook meat for just one person.” Usual daily activity is reading the Vietnamese community newspaper with his morning tea for breakfast. He says he usually eats lunch, but can’t remember what he usually eats. He has rice and a few vegetables for dinner. You notice that his clothes fit very loosely. He states he weighed 140 pounds at his doctor’s office 5 months ago. When you weigh him, he weighs 123 pounds and is 5’8″ tall. Look at the list of nursing diagnoses in Appendix A of your text. What nursing diagnoses would you choose for Mr. Lei? What additional questions would you ask to confirm your diagnosis? What physical examination and laboratory findings would you expect Mr. Lei to have? What psychosocial and cultural factors should you consider when assessing Mr. Lei?