Healthy and Environmentally Sustainable Food Procurement and Foodservice in Australian Aged Care and Healthcare Services: A Scoping Review of Current Research and Training

Lena D Stephens,Judi Porter,Mark Lawrence

doi:10.3390/su132011207

Abstract

Balancing the adoption of environmentally sustainable food systems in Australian healthcare and aged care settings whilst meeting nutritional requirements has never been more critical. This scoping review aimed to identify: the major authoritative reports/guidelines related to healthy and environmentally sustainable food procurement and foodservice in aged care and healthcare services released by international and Australian governments/organizations; and the scope of healthy and environmentally sustainable food procurement and foodservice research and training initiatives in aged care and healthcare services implemented in Australia over the past decade. A systematic search yielded n = 17 authoritative reports/guidelines and n = 20 publications describing Australian research and training initiatives. Implementation of healthy and sustainable food procurement and foodservices were limited by staff knowledge and self-efficacy, and unsupportive management. Further intervention and monitoring of healthy and sustainable food procurement and foodservice practices is needed. Whilst professionals working in and managing these services require upskilling to apply evidence-based approaches, no system-wide training programs are currently available. There is an urgent need to resolve the existing gap between recommendations to adopt environmentally sustainable practices and staff training across these sectors.

Highlights

Drawing on the methodological framework for conducting a scoping review set out by Arksey and O’Malley [13], a step-wise method was adopted to explore literature around healthy and environmentally sustainable food procurement and foodservice initiatives in aged care and healthcare services published in the past decade (2011–2021)
There is recognition at the international and national level that nutrition and dietetics professionals bridge the gap between healthy diets and environmentally sustainable food procurement and foodservice
Studies identified in this review showed that while healthy and environmentally sustainable practices have begun to be successfully integrated into healthcare and aged care services, around procurement and foodservice, there remains a disconnect between international and local policy documents and the implementation of strategies into practice in these key settings

Summary

Introduction

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Balancing dual challenges of meeting nutritional requirements whilst considering sustainable food systems in the provision of meals in healthcare and aged care has never been more critical. The priority in these settings has been to meet nutritional needs due to the complex therapeutic dietary needs and the high prevalence of undernutrition/malnutrition of which people in these sectors are vulnerable. The release of multiple global reports over the past decade including from the United. Nations (UN) [1] and EAT-Lancet commission [2] have brought attention to the importance of all settings and countries delivering sustainable food systems. Healthcare and aged care food systems are not exempt from these commitments

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Discussion

Conclusion