Quality Of Hospital Food Research Articles

Patient’s satisfaction regarding food services at Benghazi Medical Center, Benghazi, Libya.

Hospital food service is a crucial aspect of healthcare in hospitals, and providing safe and suitable food is a fundamental right for patients. The quality of food service has a significant impact on overall patient satisfaction. As a result, many hospitals are changing their meal delivery services to prioritize the needs of the patient in order to enhance satisfaction and reduce costs. Purpose: The study aimed to evaluate patient satisfaction with food services at Benghazi Medical Center (BMC). Methods: The current study is a cross-sectional study carried out from November 2021 to March 2022 at Benghazi Medical Center in Benghazi, Libya. A total of 141 participants were involved, comprising (83) females and (58) males. The participants were selected from the hospital's wards. Data collection and assessment of participants' satisfaction regarding hospital food services were conducted through interviews using questionnaires Results: The results of the current study show that most patients were satisfied with the quality of hospital food. There was a significant association (P=0.026) between patients' age and their satisfaction level. Approximately (23.4%) of patients over 40 years old reported being more satisfied. However, (16%) of participants were dissatisfied with the taste of hospital food. Most patients expressed satisfaction with the staff and hospital hygiene. Only (6%) of participants were dissatisfied due to flies or insects that prevented them from enjoying their meals. Every patient reported receiving snacks, fruit, and drinks. (64%) of participants were satisfied with mealtimes. (56%) of participants expressed satisfaction with the nutritionists’ behavior in the hospital, while (44%) expressed no satisfaction regarding the nutritionist's behavior in the hospital. Conclusion: This study shows that the majority of patients were satisfied with the food services, food quality of the hospital, staff, and hospital hygiene.

Abstract P139: The Impact Of Inpatient Diet Orders On Patient Nutrition And Dietary Behaviors Post Discharge

Introduction: Suboptimal nutrition is a known contributor to the development of cardiovascular disease. In the past decade, focus has been on improving the quality of hospital food with nutrition and policy science initiating programs, e.g. Healthy Food in Health Care. Little has been studied on the impact of these improvements on diet choices after discharge. To our knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate if inpatient diet orders play a role in nutrition after discharge. Methods: Patients ≥18 years of age admitted to the medicine service with either a regular or cardiac diet order were recruited. Exclusion criteria were the following dietary parameters—fluid restriction, low potassium, diabetic, gluten free, or vegan diets. Patients were given a baseline questionnaire using a Lickert scale to assess dietary behaviors, nutrition counseling during admission, and demographics. One month post-discharge, a follow-up questionnaire was given to reassess their dietary choices. Results: In this preliminary analysis, 70 subjects were enrolled: 57.1% (n= 40) regular diet and 42.0% (n=30) cardiac diet. 38.6% (n=27) believed diet orders during admission were part of the their medical treatment. At follow-up, 55 patients remained and included in the final analysis. 50 with identifiable subject IDs: 57.4% (n= 27) regular diet and 42.5% (n=20) cardiac diet. 15 were lost to follow up: 1 deceased, 2 declined to participate, 2 were readmitted to the hospital, and the remaining were not reachable. Diet was reported as always important to overall health 50.0% (n=35) at baseline vs 72.7% (n=40, p= 0.642) at follow up. 22.8% (n=16) of subjects stated never reading nutrition labels in comparison to follow-up 12.7% (n=7, p= 0.019). Never monitoring salt intake was reported among 23.6% (n=9) patients at baseline and 12.7% at follow-up (n=6, p=0.043). Subjects reported that nutrition education was never received during their inpatient or outpatient follow up period (30% (n=21) vs 76.3% (n=42), p=0.0002). Conclusions: To-date, our pilot study shows inpatient diet orders having the potential to influence dietary behaviors with significant changes in food label reading and monitoring salt intake after discharge. Nutrition education was significantly never given in both inpatient and outpatient settings. However, most patients believe nutrition is important to their overall health, further supporting receptivity to nutrition education during inpatient and outpatient follow-up education.

The quest to improve the quality of hospital food for patients.

Emeritus Professor Alan Glasper, from the University of Southampton, discusses an initiative by the Government to review and improve the nutritional quality of hospital food.

Diet satisfaction and associated factors among adult surgical orthopaedic inpatients at a teaching hospital in Lusaka province, Zambia; a hospital-based cross-sectional study

BackgroundPoor quality of food services in hospital contributes to low diet satisfaction among inpatients in both developed and developing countries. However, there is paucity of literature on diet satisfaction in health care facilities in the sub-Saharan region and in particular Zambia. Therefore, this study sought to assess levels of diet satisfaction among adult surgical orthopaedic inpatients at a teaching hospital in Lusaka province, Zambia.MethodsA hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted over a period of three months. Comprehensive sampling was used to select 98 study participants. A researcher-administered questionnaire adapted from a similar study was used to collect data. The instrument used in this study had 9 aspects of satisfaction. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviations were used to analyze the data. Chi-square test was used to test for associations between categorical data. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.ResultsIn this study, 64.3% of surgical orthopaedic inpatients were not satisfied with overall quality of hospital food. In addition, 76.5, 96.9, 65.3 and 71.4% of the patients were not satisfied with type, variety, appearance and taste of hospital food respectively. However, patients who were satisfied with portion size, temperature and time of meal distribution were 67.3, 94.9 and 56.1% respectively. There was no significant association between variables of age, sex, education level, marital status, monthly income, days in hospital and overall satisfaction (p > 0.05).ConclusionLow diet satisfaction is a global problem associated with poor quality of hospital meals. Although the majority of surgical orthopaedic inpatients were not satisfied with more than half of the dimensions of diet satisfaction, they were satisfied with aspects of portion size, temperature and time of meal distribution. Therefore, an assessment of diet satisfaction can inform hospital administrators and policy makers on the deficiencies in hospital diets and thereby help improve quality of meals.

May nutritional status worsen during hospital stay? A sub-group analysis from a cross-sectional study.

Hospital malnutrition is a detrimental prognostic factor regarding hospital mortality, complications, and length of stay. However, the role of hospitalization itself on nutritional status has not been fully elucidated. We report the results of a secondary analysis from the dataset of a recent cross-sectional study at Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy. Data from patients evaluated at admission and discharge were collected and compared. One hundred thirty-nine patients were evaluated. Mean length of stay was 13.6 (± 7.7) days. Patients at risk of malnutrition, according to NRS-2002, were 75 (53.9%), while 63 (45.3%) were malnourished according to ESPEN Criteria. Compared to admission, at discharge, patients reported a significant decrease in Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC)-from 26.5cm (± 3.6) to 25.9cm (± 3.7) (p = 0.016), a reduction in Phase angle (PhA)-from 4.25° (± 1.20) to 4.01° (± 1.15) (p = 0.005), fat-free mass (FFM)-from 47.5kg (± 9.19) to 44.9kg (± 9.4) (p = 0.03) and fat-free mass index (FFMI)-from 16.9kg/m2 (± 2.3) to 15.8kg/m2 (± 2.7) (p = 0.04). Laboratory data showed a reduction of albumin-from 29.2 (± 5.7) to 28.0 (± 5.9) (p = 0.01) and Onodera's PNI- from 29.1 (± 5.6) to 27.6kg (± 5.6) (p = 0.039). At the multivariate linear regression analysis, the variables significantly associated with a worsening of PhA at discharge are the PhA value at admission and the diagnosis of malnutrition according to ESPEN Criteria. Hospitalization leads to significative changes in nutritional status. A clinical concern should be raised about the quality of hospital food and meal times and on the need for a clinical nutritionist on the ward.

PATIENTS’ ASSESSMENT OF IN-PATIENT MEDICAL CARE QUALITY IN KAZAKHSTAN

In this cross-sectional study we assessed self-perceived quality of inpatient healthcare in three Kazakhstani cities. Altogether, 923 patients admitted to the city hospitals in Almaty, Aktobe and Semey filled out an anonymous questionnaire. 63 % of them were emergency patients. Binary logistic regression and principal component analysis (PCA) were used. Adjustments for social and demographic patients' characteristics were made. Altogether, 82.9 % (95 % CI 80.3-85.2) of patients rated the quality of healthcare as good or excellent. Among emergency patients, the key factors for being unsatisfied by the quality of services were insufficient quality of hospital food (OR 4.2; 95 % CI 1.70, 10.4), poor communication between doctors and nurses (OR 6.3; 95 % CI 2.3; 17.3) and the lack of adequate explanations regarding procedures and medication (OR 3.8; 95 % CI 1.5, 9.6). Among non-emergency patients, the key factors for being unsatisfied by the quality of services were insufficient quality of hospital food (OR 2.3; 95 % CI 1.2, 4.6), poor communication between doctors and nurses (OR 6.3; 95 % CI 2.9, 13.5), situation if the physician did not pay attention to whether a patient understood information about his/her condition or treatment (OR 2.4; 95 % CI 1.0, 5.2), when the patient has not had the opportunity to discuss his/her condition with medical staff (OR 2.7; 95 % CI 1.2, 5.8), if the patient's relatives was not given a possibility to communicate with a doctor (OR 4.3; 95 % CI 1.7, 11.0), or such this possibility was limited (OR 4.8; 95 % CI 1.9; 12.2).

Exploring patients' experience of hospital meal-ordering systems.

Meal-ordering systems are an important aspect of hospital food services, informing patients of the available menu choices and supporting the collection of meal orders. Although several meal-ordering systems are used in hospitals, there has been limited research into patients' experience of these systems. Aim To explore patients' experience of written, spoken and visual menus in the acute hospital setting. Method Ten patients from a tertiary teaching hospital were asked to evaluate three meal-ordering systems, which were randomly allocated to them. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to gain an understanding of the patients' experience of meal-ordering systems. Findings The type and quality of food provided, the importance of information, the characteristics of the menu monitor, and the meal-ordering process were identified as important factors in enhancing patient satisfaction with hospital food services, regardless of the meal-ordering system used. Conclusion Patients place a high value on the quality of hospital food, and hospital food service departments should engage with patients when reviewing and designing menus. Healthcare organisations should also consider implementing spoken or visual menus to complement existing strategies to enhance patient satisfaction with hospital food services.

Calls for improvement in quality of hospital food.

A slug in a sandwich, a stone in a cottage pie and a Muslim patient being offered pork were among the hundreds of complaints made about NHS hospital food last year, Nursing Standard can reveal.

Quality Of Hospital Food And Its Safety Assessment

Quality Of Hospital Food And Its Safety Assessment

G142(P) Using a Child-Friendly Survey to Obtain Feedback About the Hospital Experience of Young Inpatients

AimsThe research aimed to obtain feedback from young hospital inpatients in a manner appropriate for their age and ability, to help NHS Trusts identify how they could make improvements in...

Determinants of Patient Satisfaction with an Emergency Department Observation Unit

IntroductionPatient satisfaction is a measure of healthcare quality. The aim of this study was to determine the factors affecting patient satisfaction in an emergency department (ED) multipurpose observation unit (OU) and developing strategies that will improve patient satisfaction.MethodsIn this cross‐sectional study adult patients who were observed in and discharged from an OU were recruited voluntarily to complete the questionnaire over a one‐year period. The global indices of satisfaction – overall satisfaction with care and willingness to return to the same OU – served as the dependent variables and were assessed on a 5‐point Likert scale.ResultsThree hundred patients completed the questionnaire. Their mean age was 46.8±19.8 years, and 187 (62.3%) were female. With the exception of the patient's income, none of the demographic variables was related to the patient's rating of overall satisfaction. Overall satisfaction was significantly related to the doctor's explanation, the nurse's attitude, teamwork, technical quality of care, cleanliness of the unit, and quality of hospital food. In addition, likelihood of the patient's willingness to return was related to the patient's income, quality of hospital food, and overall satisfaction.ConclusionsOverall satisfaction in the OU is affected by the patient's perception of care rather than demographic variables, it is an important predictor for willingness to return. Improvement in patient communication skills, the process of care and environmental factors in the OU will enhance patient satisfaction and increase the likelihood of their willingness to return.

Alimentação hospitalar: proposições para a qualificação do Serviço de Alimentação e Nutrição, avaliadas pela comunidade científica

The scope of this paper is to validate proposals used to qualify hospital food by the Brazilian scientific community. An electronic questionnaire was applied to clinical nutrition professionals registered on the Lattes Platform (Brazilian database of institutions and researchers' curricula in the areas of Science and Technology). The questionnaire incorporated a Likert scale and had spaces for comments. The themes dealt with patient participation, the nutritional and sensory quality of hospital diets, and planning and goals of the Hospital Food and Nutrition Service (HFNS). The questionnaire also asked for the top five priorities for a HFNS. Proposals with total or partial adherence equal to or greater than 70% were considered to be approved. All proposals had total adherence equal to or greater than 70%. The proposal that had minimal adherence (70%) was the one that proposed that nutritional intervention must be arranged by mutual agreement with the patient. The proposal that had maximal adherence (93%) was the one advocating that there must be statistical control on diets prescribed by the HFNS. The most cited priorities referred to infrastructure and training of human resources (40%), the quality of hospital food (27%) and the nutritional status of the patient.

The poor quality of hospital food affects patients’ recovery

The poor quality of hospital food affects patients’ recovery

Ward meetings: a forum for patients' concerns.

A series of meetings between patients and staff were held on two general medical wards to discuss the concerns of patients. Issues ranged from the quality of hospital food, ward facilities, and visiting arrangements to the medical and nursing care provided and patients' views on medical students. Most issues were raised by the patients themselves and the outcome was either acceptance or rejection of a suggestion, an explanation by the staff, or a general discussion if a specific decision was inappropriate. Most staff and patients considered the meetings to be valuable. Ward meetings thus seem to provide a way of making hospitals more responsive to patients' concerns.