Published 2025-08-15
Keywords
- Hospital Food Quality; Patient Experience; Patient Satisfaction; Clinical Nutrition; Clinical Dietitian; Social Worker.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Abstract
Hospital food services represent a fundamental component of patient-centered healthcare, extending beyond the provision of basic nutritional requirements to influence patients’ overall experience, satisfaction, and clinical recovery outcomes. This study examines the impact of hospital food quality on patient experience and satisfaction by analyzing the multidimensional nature of food quality within healthcare settings, including sensory attributes such as taste, temperature, and presentation, as well as nutritional adequacy, therapeutic appropriateness, cultural suitability, meal timing, and methods of food delivery within an interdisciplinary framework of care.
The study is based on a critical analytical review of contemporary literature addressing the relationship between hospital food quality, patients’ dietary intake, and the risk of hospital-acquired malnutrition, together with its implications for clinical outcomes such as wound healing, complication rates, and length of hospital stay. In addition, the study explores the role of food services as a key determinant of overall patient satisfaction, given their frequent and direct interaction with patients throughout hospitalization, while also recognizing the contribution of social workers in addressing psychosocial, cultural, and environmental factors that influence patients’ acceptance of hospital meals and engagement with therapeutic dietary plans.
Furthermore, the research identifies major organizational, operational, and patient-related challenges that may hinder the delivery of high-quality hospital food services. Particular attention is given to the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration between clinical dietitians, healthcare providers, and social workers in supporting vulnerable patient groups, improving mealtime experiences, enhancing dietary compliance, and reducing the risk of hospital-related malnutrition through holistic patient-centered support strategies.
The study concludes that improving hospital food quality is not merely a supportive service enhancement but a critical clinical and managerial priority that contributes significantly to improving patient experience, satisfaction, and health outcomes. It also emphasizes that integrating psychosocial support through the involvement of social workers represents an essential component of comprehensive nutritional care and supports the broader goals of quality improvement in modern healthcare systems.