Current Practices and Priority Issues Regarding Nutritional Assessment and Patient Satisfaction with Hospital Menus

Publication: Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research
16 March 2018

Abstract

Purpose: Patient satisfaction with hospital food enhances consumption and adequate intake of nutrients required for recovery from illness/injury and maintenance of health; accordingly, the nutrient content of the menu must balance patient preferences. This study of Ontario hospital foodservice departments collected data on current practices of analyzing the nutritional adequacy and assessing patient satisfaction with menus, and it explored perceptions of priority issues.
Methods: Foodservice managers/directors from 57 of 140 (41%) hospitals responded to cross-sectional in-depth telephone interviews. Deductive analysis of responses to open-ended questions supplemented quantitative data from closed-ended questions.
Results: The hospitals without long-term care facilities (LTCFs) assessed regular (58%), therapeutic (53%), and texture-modified (47%) menus for nutritional adequacy. This differed from hospitals governing LTCFs where there was a higher frequency of assessment of regular (75%), therapeutic (75%), and textured-modified (66%) menus. Most departments (86%–94%) obtained patient satisfaction feedback at the departmental/corporate levels. Many identified budget and labour issues as priorities rather than assessing menus for nutritional adequacy and patient satisfaction.
Conclusions: Hospital menus were not consistently assessed for nutritional adequacy and patient satisfaction; common assessment methodologies and standards were absent. Compliance standards seem to increase the frequency of menu assessment as demonstrated by hospitals governing LTCFs.

Résumé

Objectif : La satisfaction des patients à l’égard des aliments servis dans les hôpitaux améliore la consommation et favorise un apport adéquat en nutriments nécessaires pour guérir de maladies/blessures et rester en bonne santé. La teneur nutritive du menu doit donc être équilibrée en fonction des préférences des patients. Dans le cadre de cette étude des services alimentaires d’hôpitaux ontariens, des données sur les pratiques actuelles d’analyse de la suffisance nutritionnelle et d’évaluation de la satisfaction des patients quant aux menus ont été recueillies, et les perceptions à l’égard des enjeux prioritaires ont été explorées.
Méthodes : Les gestionnaires et directeurs de services alimentaires de 57 hôpitaux sur 140 (41 %) ont participé à des entrevues téléphoniques transversales détaillées. L’analyse déductive des réponses aux questions ouvertes a permis de compléter les données quantitatives issues des questions fermées.
Résultats : Les hôpitaux sans établissements de soins de longue durée évaluaient la suffisance nutritionnelle de menus standards (58 %), thérapeutiques (53 %) et à texture modifiée (47 %). Dans les hôpitaux pourvus d’établissements de soins de longue durée, la fréquence d’évaluation des menus standards (75 %), thérapeutiques (75 %) et à texture modifiée (66 %) était supérieure. La plupart des services alimentaires (de 86 % à 94 %) obtenaient de la rétroaction sur la satisfaction des patients au niveau du service ou de l’organisation. Bon nombre d’entre eux ont désigné des enjeux liés aux budgets et à la main-d’œuvre comme étant prioritaires par rapport à l’évaluation de la suffisance nutritionnelle des menus et de la satisfaction des patients.
Conclusions : Les menus des hôpitaux n’étaient pas évalués uniformément en ce qui a trait à la suffisance nutritionnelle et à la satisfaction des patients; il n’y avait pas de méthodologies et normes d’évaluation communes. Comme le démontrent les hôpitaux pourvus d’établissements de soins de longue durée, l’existence de normes en matière de conformité semble augmenter la fréquence d’évaluation des menus.

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Financial support: Brescia University College graduate research funds. Brescia had no involvement in the study and in the writing of the report.
Conflicts of interest: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Published In

cover image Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research
Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research
Volume 79Number 2June 2018
Pages: 48 - 54

History

Version of record online: 16 March 2018

Authors

Affiliations

Susan Greig MScFN, MBA, RD
School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Brescia University College, London, ON
Sharareh Hekmat PhD
School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Brescia University College, London, ON
Alicia C. Garcia PhD, RD, CFE
School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Brescia University College, London, ON

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Cited by

1. Evaluating Patient Experience with Food in a Hospital-Wide Survey
2. The Hospital Food Experience Questionnaire Predicts Adult Patient Food Intake
3. Canadian Hospital Food Service Practices to Prevent Malnutrition

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