Implementation of Foodcare a Hospital Nutritional Care Concept: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Background: Different attempts have been made to improve nutritional care and food intake in hospital inpatients. One way may be to improve the individual customisation of meals and meal time points. This pilot study compared the food concept FoodCare consisting of customised meals served on demand and standardised meals served at fixed time points concerning energy and protein intake in medical inpatients. Method: A pilot study including medical lung inpatients at a Danish regional hospital. The control group received a set menu with limited choices served at fixed times. The intervention group received a menu of customised dishes prepared by food professionals and served on demand. Results: Twelve patients were included in the control group and 26 patients in the intervention group. In the intervention group, the tendency showed an increased energy (8.8 ± 2.7 MJ (mean ± SD) compared with the control group of 7.3 ± 2.0 MJ, p=0.10) and protein intake (74 ± 26 grams compared with the control group of 60 ± 18 (mean ± SD) grams, p=0.08). Conclusion: This pilot study demonstrated that a self-selected menu served on demand may potentially increase energy and protein intake in medical inpatients. The concept should be further tested in a randomised control trial with a sufficient sample size.