Abstract
Background: Hospital diet is an integral part of the management of in-ward patients. The quality of hospital food plays a major role in determining the overall satisfaction of patients with regards to their hospital stay. Objective: To investigate the level of patient satisfaction with regards to the diet supplied at Teaching Hospital (TH), Karapitiya. Methods: A descriptive, cross sectional study was conducted among 316 patients who received inward treatment at TH Karapitiya and consumed hospital diet. Data were collected using an interview-administered questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS statistical software. Results : During the study period, only 27% of the in-ward patients consumed hospital diet. Of 316 included in the analysis, 13.6% rated hospital diet “good”, 59.7% “fair”, and 26.6% “unsatisfactory”. Patients were satisfied with the quantity of all types of food provided (above 85%), time of food distribution (90%), temperature of food (85%) and texture (86%). However, 31% of patients were unsatisfied with taste, 40% were unsatisfied with the smell of food and 29% were unsatisfied with the diversity of food provided. No significant association was found between overall satisfaction regarding food service and the patients' age, gender, ethnicity, educational level or length of hospital stay. Conclusions: Patient perception on hospital food service at TH, Karapitiya was mostly favourable although patients were less satisfied about the quality of food. The proportion who consumed hospital food was low. Attempts must be taken to enhance the taste, smell and the diversity of food provided.
Highlights
Hospital diet is an essential component of patient recovery and well being [1]
Patient perception on hospital food service at Teaching Hospital (TH), Karapitiya was mostly favourable patients were less satisfied about the quality of food
Diet consumed during hospital stay forms an integral part of patient management, provision and consumption of a balanced diet is essential to speed up the recovery
Summary
A total of 316 patients on normal hospital diet were interviewed on perceived satisfaction with regards to hospital diet. The proportion of patients who did not consume the different types of food provided ranged from 5% to 30%. Patients' views on taste, smell, texture and diversity of the food were studied to determine the perceived level of satisfaction with regards to the quality of hospital diet. The association between the overall satisfaction regarding hospital diet and the characteristics of the patients such as age, gender, ethnicity, marital status, education and length of hospital stay was assessed using Chi square test (Table 4). Taste of the food Smell of the food Texture of the food Varieties of food given Time for the food serving Temperature of the food received Cleanliness of the spoons, plates and dishes Attitude and behavior of the food serving staff Overall quality of the food service. Age 60 years or above < 60 year Ethnicity Sinhala Others Educational level Not schooled or below primary Grade 5-11 O/L and above Marital status Married Unmarried Economic dependency Non dependent Dependent Income No income Below Rs.10000 Above Rs.10001 Duration of hospital stay 1-7 days 8-14 days Above 14 days
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