Patient Satisfaction With Hospital Foodservice and its Impact on Plate Waste in Public Hospitals in East Malaysia

Foodservice is an important issue in hospital settings, and patients’ levels of satisfaction are often indicated by consumption and plate waste.
The current study compared patient satisfaction in hospital areas and other factors and determined the relationship between patient satisfaction and plate waste.
This quantitative research was performed in four East Malaysian public hospitals. Patients at these hospitals were asked to complete a questionnaire which had three parts: A) general information, B) patient satisfaction questionnaire (Acute Care Hospital Foodservice Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire), and C) plate waste scale (Comstock 6-point scale).
A total of 189 patients participated. The results indicated that overall, 53.3%, 29.3%, 14.1%, 2.7%, and 0.5% of respondents rated the hospital foodservice as okay, good, poor, very good, and very poor, respectively. Average plate waste was 35% for all hospitals, and only 11% of patients finished all the food served. Satisfaction with hospital food differed according to the catering system (in-house and outsourced). However, the results also indicated that satisfaction with hospital foodservice was not significantly related to food wastage (r=-0.018, n=189, P=0.809).
Various factors in hospital foodservice, especially food quality, should be improved to motivate patients to consume hospital food.