Approaches to patient satisfaction measurement of the healthcare food services: A systematic review

Abstract

Background & aims: Monitoring consumer's satisfaction is important in ensuring effective foodservice improvements and to provide a patient-centred foodservice experience. The aim of this study is to systematically review available patient foodservice satisfaction survey instruments developed and validated within the acute and long-term care settings.

Methods: A literature search of four scientific databases was performed to identify relevant studies with 50 participants or greater. Study characteristics, such as identifying information, contexts, and descriptive data regarding the tool and its evaluation study, were extracted and synthesised. Quality appraisal of individual studies was undertaken to assess the risk of bias during data collection.

Results: Majority of the survey instruments included utilised a quantitative research approach in the form of self- or interview-administered questionnaires. Tools within the long-term care settings were more likely to be administered via interviews using a shorter and even rating scale, potentially resulting in a higher degree of bias and reduced data sensitivity. Food quality was consistently shown to be the main predictor of the overall satisfaction in food services. Factors that are context-specific to the settings, opportunities to allow open-ended comments, and the involvement of patients' perspectives in instrument development were also critical in improving survey quality.

Conclusion: The available validated survey instruments are generally valid and of acceptable quality, enabling effective foodservice satisfaction measurement in the healthcare settings. Nonetheless, gaps have been identified in the literature with limited evidence available for foodservice satisfaction measurement within the paediatric settings, supporting the value of future research in this field.

Keywords: Acute care; Food services; Long-term care; Patient satisfaction; Surveys.