Hospital Food Service Strategies to Improve Food Intakes among Inpatients: A Systematic Review

This review aims to identify hospital food service strategies to improve food consumption among hospitalized patients. A systematic search that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria was manually conducted through Web of Science and Scopus by an author, and the ambiguities were clarified by two senior authors. The quality assessment was separately conducted by two authors, and the ambiguities were clarified with all the involved authors. Qualitative synthesis was used to analyze and summarized the findings. A total of 2432 articles were identified by searching the databases, and 36 studies were included. The majority of the studies applied menu modifications and meal composition interventions (n = 12, 33.3%), or included the implementation of the new food service system (n = 8, 22.2%), protected mealtimes, mealtime assistance and environmental intervention (n = 7, 19.4%), and attractive meal presentation (n = 3, 8.3%). Previous studies that used multidisciplinary approaches reported a significant improvement in food intake, nutritional status, patient satisfaction and quality of life (n = 6, 16.7%). In conclusion, it is suggested that healthcare institutions consider applying one or more of the listed intervention strategies to enhance their foodservice operation in the future.

Amount of salt (sodium chloride) per capita used in a Public Hospital Food Service in Natal, RN, Brazil

During 31 days, this study determined and evaluated the amount of salt (sodium chloride) per capita used in the preparation of the lunch meals in a public hospital food service in the City of Natal, RN, Brazil. The quantification of the salt was done through the weighing of the salt container in the beginning and at the end of lunch preparation. After that, the total amount found on each day was divided by the number of meals (750), and then the per capita amounts were compared to the maximum intake recomentation (5 g/day), and the maximum amount of salt estimated to be used for preparing lunch (2.5 g/day) in the food service studied, considering that this meal is planned to provide diners 50% of their caloric needs, even though the amount of salt used in the preparation of a meal does not necessarily represents the salt ingested, and plate waste should be considered as a modifying factor to salt intake. The results showed the per capita amounts of salt used for cooking lunch varied from 1.33 g to 5.87 g, and the average for the 31 days was 3.11 g. Only 14 days (45%) were under the limit line established for lunch. The lowest and highest results could be associated to cooking techniques and ingredients required in the menu. The findings of this study are important since they provide support to the implantation of a control system for the distribution of salt from the storeroom to the kitchen, as well as data to elaborate guiding material to food handlers, and also campaign material that can be used to sensitize both the food service team and dinners (employees, patients and patient companions) about the use and consumption of salt, helping to decrease the health risks associated to a high-sodium diet.

A Conceptual Model of Developing a Measurement Tool for Hospital Food Service Operation in Malaysia

This study aims to provide and identify the best tools for measuring the quality of food service in Malaysian hospitals. The discussion focuses on the models used to evaluate the performance of food service operation in hospitals, as well as review critiques, issues, and the latest findings. Many tools have been introduced in the previous studies. However, the decision about the best fit tool to measure the quality of hospital food service is still unclear. Future study should be conducted, and an empirical test that examines various dimensions, such as food and meal service quality, staff/service issues and physical environment must be considered in the evaluation.Keywords: hospital food service; patients’ satisfaction; measurement tool; performanceeISSN: 2398-4287 © 2019. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/e-bpj.v4i10.1619