Patients' Special Diet Practices and Satisfaction from Hospital Food Services

Abstract

Healthy nutrition plays an important role fo r the treatment o f hospitalized patients. However, the studies indicate that the fo o d consumption o f the hospitalized patients were not adequate. This study was conducted on the hospitalized patients, admitted to Gevher Nesibe Hospital o f Erciyes University in Kayseri, to determine their adherence to special diets and their satisfactions from the meals served at the hospital and to make the regulations required. O f the patiens participated, 52.3% vvtfs male (n=183), 47.7% was fem a le (n=167), mean age was 57.5±13.4 y ea rs and 40% was graduated from primary sehool. The majority o f the patients hospitalized at the cardiology service, were tranied on their diet by the doctor (56.6%), 53.0% adhered to their diet. Some o f the patients (44%) satisfıed from the hospital foods and 56.0% did not. The main reasons o f unsatisfaction from the hospital meals are unpleasant taste and saltless o f the foods (18.6% and 17.2%, respectively). The majority o f the patients evaluated the portion o f meals served as sufficient, and require variety o f fo o d s. The majority o f the male and female patients (91.8% and 97.6%, respectively) expressed their satisfaction from meal services but the patients who have special diets want to select the fo o d s by themselves (74.9% and 61.7%, respectively). In this concept, the patients' satisfactiorı should be measured by studies related to meals and meal serv ic e in hospitals regularly and necessary arrangements should be made according to the patients' requests, the quality o f the services should be improved and the economic losses should be prevented related to the meals.