Relationship Between Hospital Foodservice, Patient Satisfaction, and Malnutrition Risk: A Pilot Study in Hospital

Malnutrition is the body's inability to absorb necessary nutrients, often due to disease, hunger, aging, or other factors. The European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN) focuses on the malnutrition aspect [1,2]. Unidentified or unmonitored malnutrition before hospitalization, complications affecting eating, patient inability to eat regularly due to exams/treatments, delayed meal times, psychological factors, hospital stay duration, lack of nutrition awareness, prejudices against hospital meals, etc., can lead to hospital malnutrition. Patient-related issues and lack of dietitian referrals may contribute, with food service problems being a key factor in nutritional decline [3,4]. The critical factors affecting the patient's food appreciation include the appearance, presentation, taste, consistency, texture, and temperature. In cases where patient expectations and satisfaction are not met, a decrease in food consumption and an increase in the amount of leftovers are observed. It has been observed that if the organoleptic properties and presentation style of the food offered to the patient are good, the patients evaluate the food as high quality, and their satisfaction with the food increases [5]. As a result, not being able to consume food due to lack of meal satisfaction means that the energy and elements that the patient needs are not taken into the body, which increases the patient's risk of malnutrition [4]. Effective hospital meal provision is crucial in preventing malnutrition, as emphasized by ESPEN. One of the most essential duties of the dietitian is to supervise every stage of food services to ensure the consumption of foods suitable for medical nutrition treatment of the hospitalized patient [6,7].

This study aimed to determine the role and effect of hospital food services on inpatient malnutrition. For this purpose, NRS-2002 screening was performed on 310 inpatients within three days after admission. NRS-2002 is a comprehensive screening test that the ESPEN recommends for hospitalized patients. Along with the second NRS-2002 screening, a food service satisfaction survey was administered to patients. The results of both NRS-2002 screening and satisfaction surveys were evaluated.