UW tool targets hospital patients’ eating habits

WATERLOO — Figuring out why a third of hospital patients don’t eat the food on their trays is the aim of a new tool developed by University of Waterloo researchers.

Eating while in hospital is vital to recovery, and malnutrition often leads to longer stays.

“It’s like not taking your medication,” said Prof. Heather Keller, a professor in the faculty of applied health sciences. “It’s a necessary treatment.”

The 17-question survey, called the mealtime audit tool, is a fast and simple way for hospital staff to identify why a patient in acute care is not eating well, and also help improve unit-wide practices.

Common barriers include inconvenient meal times, hot foods arriving cold, dissatisfaction with food quality, interruptions during meals, unpleasant odours and distracting eating environments.

The tool can help hospitals identify simple changes that could encourage patients to eat. One hospital using the tool as part of another study enlisted volunteers to go around when meals were delivered to ask patients if they needed anything, such as help opening a container.

Poor appetite is an issue since patients are feeling unwell, and anything to bolster that is a big help.

“If someone comes and encourages them to eat, they’re more likely to eat,” Keller said.

The nutritional status of about 20 per cent of patients deteriorates during a hospital stay, and even those who come in well nourished are at risk. Proper nourishment speeds recovery, and avoids complications from poor food and fluid intake such as delirium and falls.

“If they did not eat the food, they’d stay longer,” Keller said.

The next phase of developing the tool will include an app to administer the survey and software to track and analyze responses.

Keller’s research recently appeared in the Journal of Nutrition Health and Aging.