Diet Hospital is a free, online resource that guides patients through an eating plan, teaches how to make healthy food choices and provides calorie counting support. It has been shown to help individuals maintain a healthy weight, improve their eating habits and regain control of their health, which in turn can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and heart attacks.
Despite being a fundamental part of the healthcare system, providing adequate nutrition to hospitalised patients remains a major challenge for most hospitals worldwide. This is because malnutrition negatively impacts the patient’s condition and recovery, with evidence that it can even lead to prolonged hospital stays.
Hospital diets are designed to meet the medical and nutritional needs of individual patients, taking into account their health conditions, dietary restrictions and recovery goals. Inadequately nourished patients experience worse outcomes, including higher rates of hospital readmissions and increased healthcare costs [1].
Appropriate nutrition care within healthcare, which includes foodservice, has been described as a human right, and is essential to patient recovery and well-being [2]. Unfortunately, studies have shown that many hospitals provide substandard nutrition for their patients – for example, excessive calories from fat and saturated fat and sodium levels that exceed the recommendations of the European Society of Cardiology 2021 guidelines [3].
A hospital diet is specially designed to meet the medical and nutritional needs of a particular patient, taking into account their health conditions and dietary restrictions. Typical diets include soft, clear liquid and full liquid, plus therapeutic diets such as low-sodium, diabetic or renal.
Dietary intake is influenced by a number of factors, such as appetite, appetite suppressants (e.g. antipsychotic medications), underlying illness, treatment side effects and medication [4]. Hospitalised patients can experience decreased appetite due to stress, anxiety or other factors such as pain or fatigue. This may result in them discarding some of their meals or snacks.강남다이어트
One study found that the average meal waste for hospitalised patients on a texture-modified diet was 65% (based on the weighing method), which can be associated with a high protein waste rate. The authors also recommend implementing strategies to reduce plate waste, such as food presentations that are easier to open and clear communication between staff when feeding isolation patients who are NPO (nothing by mouth).
In this context, the team behind Diet Hospital is attempting to change practice and embed a new approach to hospital nutrition care. They are working with colleagues from the food services and hospitality departments, as well as nutrition scientists and dietitians at Stanford Hospital. This collaboration is important, as it helps to ensure that all relevant stakeholders are involved in the development of the new model and understand its benefits for patients.강남삭센다
In order to drive change, the team must ensure that the motivation for the new model is clear and visible to all employees. This includes highlighting the value of a real food approach to patients, showing them how the food is made and why it matters, and using current structures such as whiteboard systems (used in hospitals to track patient progress including which specialisms need to see them before discharge) to integrate nutrition care activities.