Improved meals service and reduced food waste and costs in medical institutions resulting from employment of a food service dietitian – a case study

Yona, Orit; Goldsmith, Rebecca; Endevelt, Ronit

doi:10.1186/s13584-020-0362-0

Cited by 17 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Their demand for food and beverage services to be controlled by a dietitian were emphasized by university students and staff for "healthy nutrition". These findings were in agreement with those of Yona et al (25), who did a comprehensive study in Israel and documented significant nutritional care improvements and cost savings after recruiting food service dietitians in hospital kitchens. Employing dietitians not only resulted in menus to be analyzed in detail per portion, but also waste was reduced and the institutional budget was positively affected (25).…”

Section: Results Of the Quantitative Analysissupporting

confidence: 92%

“…These findings were in agreement with those of Yona et al (25), who did a comprehensive study in Israel and documented significant nutritional care improvements and cost savings after recruiting food service dietitians in hospital kitchens. Employing dietitians not only resulted in menus to be analyzed in detail per portion, but also waste was reduced and the institutional budget was positively affected (25). Since dietitians are trained professionally in providing Saturated fatty acid (g) Thiamine (B (22).…”

Section: Results Of the Quantitative Analysissupporting

confidence: 92%

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Perspectives of Healthy Eating Environment on Campus: A Qualitative Study in a Private University in Ankara, Turkey

et al. 2020

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Aim: Universities provide food service to not only students, but also to their employees from all levels. However, the limited literature persists in terms of evaluating the campus food environment by different kinds of stakeholders. Therefore, this study aims to understand and conceptualize the experiences and perceptions of students and university staff towards campus food environment. Subjects and Methods: We conducted six focus groups among sixty-four people that belong to a private university in Ankara with the following roles; (i) Turkish and international students, (ii) Academic staff, (iii) Administrative staff, and (iv) Support staff. Thematic analyses were conducted by NVivo software and triangulation is done by evaluating a monthly lunch menu of the cafeteria with Nutrient Rich Food Index 9.3 (NRF 9.3) nutrient profiling model. Results: Qualitative analyses revealed that participants were aware of the nutritional importance of food services and consequences of consuming meals, foods, and beverages with low nutritional value. Nutritional value of the food was among the most important drivers of food selection and participants demanded menus to be planned by a dietitian. The seven overarching themes that were determined within the qualitative analysis were; (i) administrative process, (ii) nutritional value, (iii) variety, (iv) taste-flavor, (v) hygiene and food safety, (vi) intercultural inclusiveness, and (vii) price. NRF 9.3 scores of the campus lunch menu alternatives were low (Ranged from 0.09 to 3.19) in a way that triangulated the qualitative findings. Conclusion: This study shows that nutritional value and variety of the food and beverage services is a main driving factor for food selection and participants’ experiences even more than price and taste of the food. The results highlight the importance of serving healthy menus to all the stakeholders of a university, which could best be achieved by employing dietitians.

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Section: Results Of the Quantitative Analysissupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Results Of the Quantitative Analysissupporting

confidence: 92%

Perspectives of Healthy Eating Environment on Campus: A Qualitative Study in a Private University in Ankara, Turkey

et al. 2020

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“…This finding is consistent with a study conducted in a Malawi Burn unit; Grundziak et al, reported that all patients received the same foods daily, no matter the age or severity of burn [ 50 ]. The shortfalls observed for the quality of food provided by the hospital could be attributed to the lack of standard guidelines for menu standardization or nutritional content of food [ 51 , 52 , 53 ]. This demonstrates the opportunity for improving hospital food service, types and amount of food; the need for trained nutrition professionals, and most importantly, the political will to modify and improve hospital policy that will allow for these changes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nutrition Screening, Reported Dietary Intake, Hospital Foods, and Malnutrition in Critical Care Patients in Malawi

et al. 2021

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In low-income countries there are few data on hospital malnutrition. Reduced food intake combined with nutrient-poor foods served in hospitals contribute to nutritional risk. This study investigated whether reported dietary intake and disease state of hospitalized adults in critical care units was related to malnutrition determined by mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC). Adult in-patients (n = 126) in tuberculosis, burn, oncology, and intensive care units in two public tertiary hospitals in Malawi were screened for nutritional status using MUAC and a question on current dietary intake. The hospital menu was reviewed; portion sizes were weighed. The prevalence of moderate and severe malnutrition was 62%. Patients with organ-related diseases and infectious diseases had the highest rates of reduced reported dietary intake, 71.4% and 57.9%, respectively; however, there was no association between reported dietary intake and MUAC. In those unable to eat, however, the rate of severe malnutrition was 50%. The menu consisted of porridge and thickened corn-based starch with fried cabbage; protein foods were provided twice weekly. There was a nutrient gap of 250 calories and 13 gm protein daily. The findings support the need for increasing dietetic/nutrition services to prevent and treat malnutrition in hospitals using simple screening tools.

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“…can impair implementation of the nutrition program. The consequence is patients not receiving the optimal food for their needs, according to the medical and nutrition guidelines issued in the department, even if the correct nutritional instructions were recorded [ 35 ]. Food safety is a critical factor in the preparation and serving of food to hospitalized patients, who are more likely than the general population to be susceptible to foodborne illness, due to their decreased health status [ 7 , 34 ].…”

Section: Approaches For Establishing Food Allergy Safety In Food Service Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Generally, strategies that were previously demonstrated to improve meal tray accuracy in hospitals include a standardized menu formatting and spoken menu systems [ 38 ]. According to the Nutrition Division at the Ministry of Health in Israel, the continuity of care between hospital departments and hospital food services, as reflected in the serving of food that is appropriate to patients’ medical needs, is incomplete and even nonexistent in some hospital departments [ 35 ].…”

Section: Approaches For Establishing Food Allergy Safety In Food Service Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Food allergy safety: a descriptive report of changing policy in a single large medical center

Harari

Toren

Tal

et al. 2021

Isr J Health Policy Res

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Background Food allergy can result in life-threatening anaphylaxis and is considered an increasing public health burden. Hospitalized patients are dependent on the hospital menu to meet their nutritional needs; thus, errors in the meals provided can have a substantial impact on patients’ health outcomes. In Israel, no specific policy protocol exists to ensure food allergy safety in the setting of a hospital foodservice system. Objectives This paper has two aims: 1) to provide an in-depth review of food allergy as a major public health concern and 2) to report actions taken in a single large medical center, as an ongoing project that aimed to ensure patients’ safety, and which ended in developing policy on this matter. Results During the years 2017–2019, we initiated several interventions with the goal of achieving food allergy safety and ensuring quality of care for patients with food allergies at Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center. These included integrating food management safety into the computerized foodservice system, highlighting labels on patients’ food trays, introducing safety checks into the process of food delivery to hospitalized patients; and ensuring the nutritional requirements of patients with allergy restrictions. Moreover, changes were made in specialized menus for patients with various types of food allergy, and specific procedures were implemented regarding enteral feeding, to prevent accidental allergen exposure. All the procedures were incorporated into a written protocol that applies to all hospital employees, and the staff received the relevant training. Conclusions Our experience suggests that methods for food allergy safety should be promoted, and that an established policy and suitable set of guidelines on this matter is required. This clearly mandates collaboration between the various sectors of the hospital, including management and the computer department; and the medical, nursing, dietetics and kitchen staffs. Furthermore, routine ongoing knowledge training programs for medical teams and kitchen staff are crucial for such implementational changes. In a technological world, computerized systems delivering food to hospitalized patients must be adapted such as to create a uniformly safe food environment of healthcare systems, and developing a suitable policy should be prioritized accordingly by hospitals across Israel, with collaboration and synergy between institutions management and the departments of nutrition and patient safety and risk management.

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Improved meals service and reduced food waste and costs in medical institutions resulting from employment of a food service dietitian – a case study

Cited by 17 publications

References 11 publications

Perspectives of Healthy Eating Environment on Campus: A Qualitative Study in a Private University in Ankara, Turkey

Perspectives of Healthy Eating Environment on Campus: A Qualitative Study in a Private University in Ankara, Turkey

Nutrition Screening, Reported Dietary Intake, Hospital Foods, and Malnutrition in Critical Care Patients in Malawi

Food allergy safety: a descriptive report of changing policy in a single large medical center

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