Satisfaction of patients in different wards of Imam Reza Hospital from food services

Malnutrition is a common problem in hospitalized patients. However, research shows that the nutrition department as one of the effective pillars in patients' health in hospitals has been neglected or has played a minor role in the treatment process. The aim of this study was to investigate the level of patients' satisfaction with the nutritional services of Imam Reza Hospital in Mashhad University of Medical Sciences.

This cross-sectional descriptive study was performed on 387 patients who were admitted to Imam Reza (AS) Hospital in Mashhad in November 2017. The sampling method was census. The data collection tool was part of a standardized daily nutrition checklist consisting of four separate questions that assessed the patient's food intake before and after hospitalization, patients' satisfaction and reasons for dissatisfaction with the food services provided in the hospital. Findings were analyzed using descriptive statistics including frequency, mean and standard deviation.

In the study of patients' satisfaction, it was found that a total of 35% of patients were satisfied with the food provided and 25% were dissatisfied, the remaining patients were partially satisfied or failed to comment. Patients admitted to the cardiovascular ward were the most satisfied and oncology patients were the least satisfied with the nutrition ward services. However, in the study of food intake during hospitalization (in comparison to before hospitalization), most of patients in the oncology ward (44.4 %) reported an increase and patients in the cardiovascular ward (85.7 %) reported a decrease in satisfaction.

The conditions in each ward of hospital have a great effect on patients' satisfaction with hospital food. The increased in food intake in the oncology ward during hospitalization showed that informing the patient could reduce the effect of adverse environmental conditions on the amount of eating. The valuable results of this study can be used to improve nutrition screening and to find the causes of patient dissatisfaction.