Fifteen Years of Patient Experience with Hospital Food in a Spanish Long-Term Care Hospital

<bold>Background/Objectives</bold>: Adequate nutrition in older adults is essential to maintaining health, functionality, and quality of life, particularly in long-term care hospitals (HACLEs). Previous studies suggest that dissatisfaction with hospital food is linked to longer stays, mo...

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Autores: Ferrero-López, M, Pérez-Esteve, C, Mora, MG, Nebot-Marzal, CM, Mira, J
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2026
País:España
Institución:Fundación para el Fomento de la Investigación Sanitaria y Biomédica de la Comunitat Valenciana (FISABIO)
Repositorio:r-FISABIO. Repositorio Institucional de Producción Científica
OAI Identifier:oai:dnet:r-fisabio___::373551d25be659f5883c27f8baa1c254
Acceso en línea:https://fisabio.portalinvestigacion.com/publicaciones/21212
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:hospital food service (MeSH)
patient satisfaction (MeSH)
quality improvement (MeSH)
long-term care (MeSH)
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spelling Fifteen Years of Patient Experience with Hospital Food in a Spanish Long-Term Care HospitalFerrero-López, MPérez-Esteve, CMora, MGNebot-Marzal, CMMira, Jhospital food service (MeSH)patient satisfaction (MeSH)quality improvement (MeSH)long-term care (MeSH)<bold>Background/Objectives</bold>: Adequate nutrition in older adults is essential to maintaining health, functionality, and quality of life, particularly in long-term care hospitals (HACLEs). Previous studies suggest that dissatisfaction with hospital food is linked to longer stays, more complications, and negative perceptions of care. Given these concerns, this study aimed to assess patients' experiences with hospital food over a 15-year period in a HACLE in Spain, identify key influencing factors, and validate an updated PREM (Patient Reported Experience Measure) tool for food services. <bold>Methods</bold>: A retrospective, observational, repeated cross-sectional study was conducted using annual PREM surveys administered between 2011 and 2025 to patients on oral diets. Psychometric validation of the updated 8-item version (2024) was conducted. <bold>Results</bold>: Out of 1618 surveys, 1540 were included in the final analysis. The updated PREM showed strong internal consistency (alpha = 0.85, omega = 0.87), a two-factor structure (food quality and service conditions), and adequate model fit. Perceptions worsened after a catering company change in 2022 but improved following the implementation of new food distribution carts in 2025. The PREM total score showed a strong positive association with the global satisfaction item, providing supportive evidence based on a closely related anchor measure (Spearman's rho = 0.80, 95% CI 0.77-0.82; p < 0.001). Scores differed significantly by diet type: patients receiving a pureed diet reported the highest average satisfaction score, followed by those on a soft diet and a regular diet. The group on a soft diet excluding foods that pose a choking hazard had the lowest mean score. <bold>Conclusions</bold>: The validated PREM scale is a reliable tool to monitor patient experience with hospital food. It enables early detection of quality issues and supports targeted improvements. Routine use in long-term care settings may foster personalized, patient-centered nutrition strategies and enhance care quality.MDPI2026info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttps://fisabio.portalinvestigacion.com/publicaciones/21212NutrientsISSN: 20726643reponame:r-FISABIO. Repositorio Institucional de Producción Científicainstname:Fundación para el Fomento de la Investigación Sanitaria y Biomédica de la Comunitat Valenciana (FISABIO)Inglésinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:dnet:r-fisabio___::373551d25be659f5883c27f8baa1c2542026-06-11T12:45:17Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Fifteen Years of Patient Experience with Hospital Food in a Spanish Long-Term Care Hospital
title Fifteen Years of Patient Experience with Hospital Food in a Spanish Long-Term Care Hospital
spellingShingle Fifteen Years of Patient Experience with Hospital Food in a Spanish Long-Term Care Hospital
Ferrero-López, M
hospital food service (MeSH)
patient satisfaction (MeSH)
quality improvement (MeSH)
long-term care (MeSH)
title_short Fifteen Years of Patient Experience with Hospital Food in a Spanish Long-Term Care Hospital
title_full Fifteen Years of Patient Experience with Hospital Food in a Spanish Long-Term Care Hospital
title_fullStr Fifteen Years of Patient Experience with Hospital Food in a Spanish Long-Term Care Hospital
title_full_unstemmed Fifteen Years of Patient Experience with Hospital Food in a Spanish Long-Term Care Hospital
title_sort Fifteen Years of Patient Experience with Hospital Food in a Spanish Long-Term Care Hospital
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Ferrero-López, M
Pérez-Esteve, C
Mora, MG
Nebot-Marzal, CM
Mira, J
author Ferrero-López, M
author_facet Ferrero-López, M
Pérez-Esteve, C
Mora, MG
Nebot-Marzal, CM
Mira, J
author_role author
author2 Pérez-Esteve, C
Mora, MG
Nebot-Marzal, CM
Mira, J
author2_role author
author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv hospital food service (MeSH)
patient satisfaction (MeSH)
quality improvement (MeSH)
long-term care (MeSH)
topic hospital food service (MeSH)
patient satisfaction (MeSH)
quality improvement (MeSH)
long-term care (MeSH)
description <bold>Background/Objectives</bold>: Adequate nutrition in older adults is essential to maintaining health, functionality, and quality of life, particularly in long-term care hospitals (HACLEs). Previous studies suggest that dissatisfaction with hospital food is linked to longer stays, more complications, and negative perceptions of care. Given these concerns, this study aimed to assess patients' experiences with hospital food over a 15-year period in a HACLE in Spain, identify key influencing factors, and validate an updated PREM (Patient Reported Experience Measure) tool for food services. <bold>Methods</bold>: A retrospective, observational, repeated cross-sectional study was conducted using annual PREM surveys administered between 2011 and 2025 to patients on oral diets. Psychometric validation of the updated 8-item version (2024) was conducted. <bold>Results</bold>: Out of 1618 surveys, 1540 were included in the final analysis. The updated PREM showed strong internal consistency (alpha = 0.85, omega = 0.87), a two-factor structure (food quality and service conditions), and adequate model fit. Perceptions worsened after a catering company change in 2022 but improved following the implementation of new food distribution carts in 2025. The PREM total score showed a strong positive association with the global satisfaction item, providing supportive evidence based on a closely related anchor measure (Spearman's rho = 0.80, 95% CI 0.77-0.82; p < 0.001). Scores differed significantly by diet type: patients receiving a pureed diet reported the highest average satisfaction score, followed by those on a soft diet and a regular diet. The group on a soft diet excluding foods that pose a choking hazard had the lowest mean score. <bold>Conclusions</bold>: The validated PREM scale is a reliable tool to monitor patient experience with hospital food. It enables early detection of quality issues and supports targeted improvements. Routine use in long-term care settings may foster personalized, patient-centered nutrition strategies and enhance care quality.
publishDate 2026
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2026
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://fisabio.portalinvestigacion.com/publicaciones/21212
url https://fisabio.portalinvestigacion.com/publicaciones/21212
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv MDPI
publisher.none.fl_str_mv MDPI
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv Nutrients
ISSN: 20726643
reponame:r-FISABIO. Repositorio Institucional de Producción Científica
instname:Fundación para el Fomento de la Investigación Sanitaria y Biomédica de la Comunitat Valenciana (FISABIO)
instname_str Fundación para el Fomento de la Investigación Sanitaria y Biomédica de la Comunitat Valenciana (FISABIO)
reponame_str r-FISABIO. Repositorio Institucional de Producción Científica
collection r-FISABIO. Repositorio Institucional de Producción Científica
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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