Patient experience, nutritional uptake and satisfaction with hospital food services

It has been recognised that hospital food service could be improved, with malnutrition a particular concern. The problem of patients obtaining adequate nutrition in hospital is complex with many constraints at ward level. The hypothesis of this study is that patients able to see and smell the food on offer and with potential for greater server empathy, will achieve better nutritional status and increased meal satisfaction. Data were collected from two wards, Women's Health and Orthopaedic, (n=62) over two, three-day consecutive periods. Firstly, for a pre-ordered, plated meal service and secondly, nine months later, for a trolley service offering choice at the point of consumption. Food was weighed before and after the meal. Questionnaires were administered and interviews conducted with patients (n= 614) to evaluate patient acceptability of both catering systems and other pertinent data. The research methodology also involved collecting observational data during mealtimes. Focus groups were conducted with ward staff, and patients together with their visitors while open ended interviews were conducted with the catering manager, facilities manager, chief dietitian, orthopaedic ward dietitian and chief pharmacist. This was to enhance and validate information already gathered. Results show that nutritional intake was not dependent on the catering system and that possibly in hospital; unlike other `eating out' situations there are barriers to `complete nutrition'1. A theoretical model of patient experience and satisfaction with hospital food service is presented, reflecting data gathered during the case study. Texture and temperature of food were shown to be critical factors impinging on patient satisfaction and the trolley system of delivery is the preferred style of service. Service predisposition demonstrates little significance with patient satisfaction towards the overall meal experience. This research indicates that nutritionally, the method of meal delivery is immaterial but patients do prefer choice at the point of consumption. 1 A term used to define the provision of a healthy nutritionally balanced diet which meets and satisfies both physiological and psychological requirements

Presentation Power: Be an Agent of Ethical Image Use!

Using images can add action to your presentations, but do you know how to ensure that you use those images ethically and legally? Come learn how to be an agent for change and a force for ethical information use. Heighten your understanding of image use in the classroom, on websites, and in conference presentations. This session will help you understand copyright, creative common licenses, and public domain; search for stock and health sciences images; and cite your images appropriately. Avenge plagiarism! Vanquish copyright infringement! Defend sharing culture

Static Course Modules? ZAP! Librarians Create Interactive Online Lessons

Tired of voiceover PowerPoints? Looking for more than just another video link? NLA to the rescue! The New Literacies Alliance (NLA) is a project that creates interactive, online, and open access lessons addressing basic concepts of information and related literacies. Student scores on activities and assessments are captured using SoftChalk. The lessons are institution and LMS agnostic, allowing users from any organization to deploy the lessons in their online environment. Discover how librarians and instructors freely embed these lessons into their courses and collaborate remotely in the creation of new lessons. The session examines planning for initial lesson use, differing degrees of implementation, results and feedback, and strategies for the future

New Frameworks, New Friends: New Literacies Alliance (NLA), Open Access Information Literacy Instruction & Collaboration

The New Literacies Alliance (NLA) consortia collaboration creates online, open access lessons that are based on ACRL’s Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. The lessons are designed to teach students the literacies needed for academic success and lifelong learning. Discover how librarians and instructors can freely embed these lessons into their courses and become members of the collaboration to actively participate across institutional borders in the creation of new lessons. Listen to two librarians share how they implemented NLA lessons in an online course and in a flipped classroom environment. The session examines planning for initial lesson use, differing degrees of implementation, results and feedback, and strategies for the future

Workplace Health & Wellbeing: Considering the Tourism Workforce

Against a background of increasing tourism employment, this paper explores the health of the tourism workforce. The rationale for this exploration stems from the current international debate regarding work place health and wellbeing (EU 2012). Research shows that promoting health and wellbeing in the workplace is beneficial for employers and employees (Kuhn & Van der Auwera 2013, Black 2008, Department of Work and Pensions 2012). Dame Carol Black in her 2008/11 review of the evidence concluded that the following areas were the qualities of work which cause poor health: • Insecure employment. • Work is monotonous and repetitive. • Workers have little or no autonomy, and task discretion. • There is an imbalance between effort and reward. • Few supportive social networks. • An absence of procedural justice in the work place. Like other industries tourism and hospitality employment can include these characteristics, especially the informal sector where employment can be casual and not contracted. (149 words) Keywords: Tourism, Labour, Work, Health, Employee

Disaster Nursing: Looking to the Future in Norway

Health resilience is an integral part of disaster management and lies at the nexus between this and public health considerations. As the largest group of professionals worldwide, nurses face continual challenges in further developing their competences in disaster response and recovery. This paper investigates the trajectory, role and future expectations of the Norwegian nursing profession in health emergency and disaster planning, and offers a future research agenda for those interested in investigating the complex inter-relationship between disaster management and nursing. The paper seeks to respond to observations made in a recent Norwegian report (2013) on behalf of the Norwegian nursing association that highlights the need to investigate nurses’ knowledge in relation to emergency/disaster plans especially in the community health care system. The paper will explore the conceptual nuances between emergencies and disasters and then comments upon supplementary observations of the need for identifying disaster nursing practices and training programs to prepare nurses. By taking this approach, the paper also seeks to provide insights into how future demands of improving nurses´ capacities or implementation as leaders in disaster management – as highlighted by several International studies. In addition, by offering a future research agenda, the intention is that this may contribute to exploration of the role of nursing in handling long-term implications of disaster management

Repeated exposure and conditioning strategies for increasing vegetable liking and intake: Systematic review and meta-analyses of the published literature

Background Vegetable intakes are typically lower than recommended for health. Although repeated exposure has been advocated to increase vegetable liking and consumption, no combination of the evidence yet provides a measure of benefit from repeated exposure or alternative conditioning strategies. Objective This work aimed to identify and synthesize the current evidence for the use of repeated exposure and conditioning strategies for increasing vegetable liking and consumption. Design Three academic databases were searched over all years of records using prespecified search terms. Published data from all suitable articles were tabulated in relation to 3 research questions and combined via meta-analyses. Results Forty-three articles detailing 117 comparisons investigating the use of repeated exposure and conditioning strategies for increasing liking and intakes of vegetables were found. Our analyses demonstrate: 1) increased liking and intakes of the exposed vegetable after repeated exposure compared with no exposure; 2) increased liking for the exposed vegetable after conditioning compared with repeated exposure, increased intakes after the use of rewards, and some suggestion of decreased intakes after flavor-nutrient conditioning; and 3) increased liking and intakes of a novel vegetable after repeated exposure to a variety of other vegetables compared with no exposure or repeated exposure to one other vegetable. Effect sizes, however, are small, and limited evidence suggests long-term benefits. Our analyses, furthermore, are limited by limitations in study design, compliance, and/or reporting. Conclusions Based on our findings, we recommend the use of repeated exposure to one and a variety of vegetables, and the use of rewards, for increasing vegetable liking and consumption. Confirmation from further large, well-conducted studies that use realistic scenarios, however, is also required

The future of charitable alternative food networks in the UK: An investigation into current challenges and opportunities for foodbanks and community markets

This study examines the potential of charitable alternative food networks (ANFs), specifically community markets, as a complimentary solution to existing food aid efforts in response to food insecurity. While foodbanks play a crucial role in providing emergency food aid, they often face challenges in terms of supply shortages, limited food variety, and perpetuating dependency on food aid. Moreover, foodbanks may only offer temporary relief without addressing the root cause of food insecurity. Community markets, on the other hand, adopt a social economy approach and aim to empower local communities by providing affordable food options to all community members. These markets operate on a different business model than foodbanks and offer additional vouchers for those who cannot afford to purchase food. Community markets also focus on promoting social and economic goals and often provide additional services and activities within the community centres. By assessing the perspectives of beneficiaries of foodbanks and community markets, the paper examines the dimensions of food security (availability, access, utilisation, and stability) in the context of both charitable AFNs and highlights the potential of community markets and foodbanks to address these dimensions. While there is ongoing debate about categorising food aid programmes as AFNs, both share the goal of reducing food insecurity and promoting sustainable and equitable food systems. Ultimately the paper argues that community markets offer a more sustainable and empowering approach to addressing food insecurity by addressing its underlying causes and promoting community resilience

Nutrition information and its influence on menu choice within higher education establishments

©Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the influence of nutritional information on menu choices in a higher educational setting using a menu designed by the students themselves. Design/methodology/approach - Based on USDA healthy eating standards, a menu comprising seven healthy and seven unhealthy meal options were presented, once unlabeled as control (n = 214) and once labeled with healthy and non-healthy nutrient icons as an intervention test menu (n = 212). Findings - Findings demonstrate that despite a positive observed trend, there were no significant differences between healthy selection of labeled and unlabeled dishes (p = 0.16).Practical implications - Providing nutritional information in student cafeterias may be challenging but helpful. However, more strategies need to be developed with student input to provide nutrition data on menus in an informative, comprehensive, yet friendly way that encourages healthy eating in campus foodservices. The authors would like to thank Sodexho at Montclair State University for their full cooperation with this project. Competing interests: the author(s) declare that they have no competing interests. Authors’ contributions: authorship is based on substantive contributions to each of the following: conception and design of the study; generation and collection of data, analysis and/or interpretation; and drafting or revision of the manuscript and approval of the final version. Ethical approval: the Independent Ethical Review Board of Montclair State University gave full approval for this study. An information sheet and consent form was distributed to all respondents and signed and where informed consent implied through participation and completion of the questionnaire. Respondents were informed of their right to withdraw from the survey and that their identity would be protected. Data were stored safely for the duration of the study, for administrative purposes, after which handling of data sets will adhere to guidelines of the Data Protection Act 1998.Social implications – No labeling system or legislation can control choices made by individuals, so the responsibility for a healthy selection must always remain personal. However, consumers should have input on menus as they have a stake in the outcome of the products. Originality/value – This novel study tested a student-designed menu to assess whether user input can influence food choice