ABSTRACT
The increasing age of populations throughout the world means that healthcare services are faced with new challenges, not least regarding the provision of food during hospital stay. There is a lack of knowledge of how hospital mealtimes are experienced by older patients, and so the aim of this article was to review current knowledge regarding mealtimes in hospitals from the perspectives of older patients. A literature search was performed using seven databases: PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Sociological Abstracts, SweMed+, ASSIA and CINAHL with no limits regarding publication date. The inclusion criteria were peer-reviewed articles in English or Swedish that used qualitative methods to examine older patients' (>65 years) mealtime experiences. The Five Aspect Meal Model (FAMM) served as a framework for understanding the complexity behind a mealtime experience. Qualitative content analysis was used as a guide when analysing the material. The search produced 415 studies, 14 of which were included in the review. The findings generated three main themes for understanding how older patients experience mealtimes while in hospital: (1) the food and the food service, (2) mealtime assistance and commensality during mealtimes and (3) the importance of retaining one's independence. The review also clearly indicated a shortage of studies that solely focus on older patients' experiences of their mealtime. More research is therefore needed to be fully able to understand the complex task of providing meals in hospitals.
Subject(s)
Hospitals , Meals , Humans , Qualitative ResearchABSTRACT
The working conditions of flight attendants (FAs) often involve extended and irregular working hours, short rest periods, difficulties in planning for breaks and high demands of service provision. Moreover, work schedules including early check-in, shifts during circadian low and time-zone transitions imply constant exposure to alterations in circadian systems and related health risks. The aim of this explorative study was to investigate how the organisation of work, time and place influence the food and meal situation of FAs when at work, focusing on patterns, form and social context of meals. The research questions posed were how food and meals at work were characterised and perceived among the FAs, and what strategies were adopted to manage the food and meal situation. Qualitative, semi-structured interviews were conducted with fourteen FAs working in Scandinavia. The results indicated that the organisation of work, time and place have a major influence on the meal situation at work, and how food and meals are perceived and managed by FAs. The work was defined as fragmented and inconsistent regarding time and place resulting in scattered meals and a more snack-based form of eating. The meal situation was characterised by irregularity as well as unpredictability. Eating took place when food was available and when there was enough time to eat, rather than being guided by hunger or social context. Various strategies such as eating in prevention, using emergency food, avoiding certain food and drinks or eating little or nothing at all were used to manage the unpredictability of the meal situation as well as the gap between organisational and individual times. The findings demonstrated the individual responsibility to solve the meal at work, e.g. to solve organisational times.
Subject(s)
Aircraft , Eating/psychology , Feeding Behavior/psychology , Meals/psychology , Adult , Denmark , Female , Humans , Hunger , Male , Middle Aged , Qualitative Research , Snacks/psychology , Social Environment , Surveys and Questionnaires , SwedenABSTRACT
Motoric eating difficulties affecting the ability to eat according to established norms may result in loss of autonomy, reduced food intake and decreased social interaction. Finger food meals may affect the ability to eat independently and were therefore compared to regular meals for older adults >65 years with major motoric eating difficulties. In this pilot study the screening instrument MEOF-II, including additional questions about use of cutlery and fingers, was used to collect data regarding autonomy, food intake and social interaction through observations. Five women and one man participated in the study. Results showed that finger food meals facilitated autonomous eating since the participants were able to eat independently without relying on help from others. Less energy was spent on eating, which allowed for social interaction. However, finger food meals entail unfamiliar norms and culinary rules which may hinder eating; this is an important factor to consider in the implementation of such meals. Further studies on finger foods for older adults may consider larger and diverse cohorts, including healthy older adults, those with motoric difficulties and those with early stages of cognitive decline. Also, a wider variety of finger foods for specific cultural preferences and situations may be considered.
Subject(s)
Meals , Humans , Pilot Projects , Male , Female , Aged , Feeding Behavior/psychology , Eating/psychology , Aged, 80 and over , Personal AutonomyABSTRACT
Background: Good health requires healthy eating. However, individuals with eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa, require treatment to modify their dietary behaviours and prevent health complications. There is no consensus on the best treatment practices and treatment outcomes are usually poor. While normalising eating behaviour is a cornerstone in treatment, few studies have focused on eating and food-related obstacles to treatment. Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate clinicians' perceived food-related obstacles to treatment of eating disorders (EDs). Design: Qualitative focus group discussions were conducted with clinicians involved in eating disorder treatment to get an understanding of their perceptions and beliefs regarding food and eating among eating disorder patients. Thematic analysis was used to find common patterns in the collected material. Results: From the thematic analysis the following five themes were identified: (1) ideas about healthy and unhealthy food, (2) calculating with calories, (3) taste, texture, and temperature as an excuse, (4) the problems with hidden ingredients and (5) the challenges of extra food. Discussion: All identified themes showed not only connections to each other but also some overlap. All themes were associated with a requirement of control, where food may be perceived as a threat, with the effects of food consumption resulting in a perceived net loss, rather than a gain. This mindset can greatly influence decision making. Conclusions: The results of this study are based on experience and practical knowledge that could improve future ED treatments by enhancing our understanding the challenges certain foods pose for patients. The results may also help to improve dietary plans by including and explaining challenges for patients at different stages of treatment. Future studies could further investigate the causes and best treatment practices for people suffering from EDs and other eating disturbances.
ABSTRACT
To explore the inter-rater reliability of the Swedish translation of NCP-QUEST in a Swedish context and investigate the level of agreement between Diet-NCP-Audit and NCP-QUEST in assessment of documentation quality. A retrospective audit was conducted of 40 electronic patient records written by dietitians at one University Hospital in Sweden. NCP-QUEST showed good inter-rater reliability for the quality category (ICC = 0.85) and excellent inter-rater reliability for total score (ICC = 0.97).
Subject(s)
Nutritionists , Humans , Retrospective Studies , Reproducibility of Results , Diet , DocumentationABSTRACT
Difficulties of managing cutlery, manipulating food on the plate and transporting food to the mouth may negatively influence the ability for self-provision and nutritional status among older adults with motoric eating difficulties. The purpose was to explore perceptions and attitudes about eating with the fingers among older adults with motoric eating difficulties, and relatives and professional caregivers of older adults with motoric eating difficulties. Qualitative data was collected through individual interviews with older adults >65 years (N = 14) with motoric eating difficulties and focus groups with relatives (N = 15) and professional caregivers (N = 15). Data was analyzed using deductive and inductive content analysis. Although the older adults had normative ideas about proper eating and culinary rules, they regularly consumed several foods with their fingers without previously reflecting upon this. Using bread to grip or wrap foods and inserting skewers into foods may increase the acceptability of eating with the fingers. However, the importance of the disease causing the eating difficulties, how it was perceived, and its severity were crucial in understanding how eating with the fingers was perceived. Finger foods may be suitable for older adults with major eating difficulties because they have developed a self-acceptance in relation to their condition over time.
Subject(s)
Attitude , Caregivers , Aged , Eating , Focus Groups , HumansABSTRACT
The world is facing a number of challenges related to food consumption. These are, on the one hand, health effects and, on the other hand, the environmental impact of food production. Radical changes are needed to achieve a sustainable and healthy food production and consumption. Public and institutional meals play a vital role in promoting health and sustainability, since they are responsible for a significant part of food consumption, as well as their "normative influence" on peoples' food habits. The aim of this paper is to provide an explorative review of the scientific literature, focusing on European research including both concepts of health and sustainability in studies of public meals. Of >3000 papers, 20 were found to satisfy these criteria and were thus included in the review. The results showed that schools and hospitals are the most dominant arenas where both health and sustainability have been addressed. Three different approaches in combining health and sustainability have been found, these are: "Health as embracing sustainability", "Sustainability as embracing health" and "Health and sustainability as separate concepts". However, a clear motivation for addressing both health and sustainability is most often missing.
Subject(s)
Feeding Behavior , Food Supply/statistics & numerical data , Meals , Hospitals , Humans , SchoolsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: A systematic repeat biopsy is recommended for men starting on active surveillance for prostate cancer, but the optimal number and distribution of cores are unknown. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate an extensive repeat transrectal biopsy with anterior sampling in men starting on active surveillance. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Randomised multicentre trial. From 2012 to 2016, 340 Swedish men, aged 40-75yr, with recently diagnosed low-volume Gleason grade group 1 prostate cancer were included. INTERVENTION: Either an extensive transrectal biopsy with anterior sampling (median 19 cores) or a standard transrectal biopsy (median 12 cores). OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Primary outcome measure: Gleason grade group ≥2 cancer. SECONDARY OUTCOMES: Cancer in anteriorly directed biopsy cores and postbiopsy infection. Nonparametric statistical tests were applied. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: Gleason grade group ≥2 cancer was detected in 16% of 156 men who had an extensive biopsy and in 10% of 164 men who had a standard biopsy, a 5.7% difference (95% confidence interval [CI]-0.2% to 13%, p=0.09). There was a strong linear association between prostate-specific antigen (PSA) density and cancer in the anteriorly directed biopsy cores. The odds ratios for cancer in the anteriorly directed cores were for any cancer 2.2 (95% CI 1.3-3.9, p=0.004) and for Gleason grade group ≥2 cancer 2.3 (95% CI 1.2-4.4, p=0.015) per 0.1-ng/ml/cm3 increments. Postbiopsy infections were equally common in the two groups. A limitation is that magnetic resonance imaging was not used. CONCLUSIONS: The trial did not support general use of the extensive transrectal repeat biopsy template, but cancer in the anteriorly directed cores was common, particularly in men with high PSA density. The higher the PSA density, the stronger the reason to include anterior sampling at a systematic repeat biopsy. PATIENT SUMMARY: This trial compared two different templates for transrectal prostate biopsy in men starting on active surveillance for low-risk prostate cancer. Cancer was often found in the front part of the prostate, which is not sampled on a standard prostate biopsy.
Subject(s)
Prostate/pathology , Prostatic Neoplasms/pathology , Watchful Waiting , Adult , Aged , Biopsy, Large-Core Needle/methods , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Neoplasm Grading , Prospective Studies , Rectum , Risk Assessment , SwedenABSTRACT
We conducted a systematic review of randomised studies on the impact of worksite interventions to promote healthier food and/or physical activity among people who work irregular hours 'around the clock', that is, outside of ordinary daytime working hours. The population-intervention-comparator-outcomes-study (PICOS) design format was used. Data sources were PubMed and CINAHL. An updated search was conducted on October 2017 using Google Scholar and the related articles function in PubMed on initially included studies to identify additional studies. Risk of bias was used to assess study quality. A total of seven studies (reports published in 14 papers) were included in the systematic review: Two interventions with a broader lifestyle approach, three focusing on physical exercise and two on providing healthier food or meal options. The studies had sample sizes from 30 to 1,000 and targeted a mixture of occupations, including both male- and female-dominated occupational groups. The interventions lasted from 2 to 12 months. Only one had an extended follow-up. In general, the studies showed small-to-moderate effect sizes on several measures, including dietary and/or physical activity measures, suggesting acceptable effectiveness for interventions involving community-level behaviour change. Our findings highlight a need to further develop and implement well-designed health promotion interventions with comparable outcome measures and effect size reports. A mixture of health promotion strategies is recommended for future practice in this target population, including individually tailored programmes, improving the food and physical activity environment and using broader lifestyle approaches including the use of participatory and empowerment strategies. While more research is needed in this field, the existing knowledge base on effective approaches awaits translation into practice.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Only a minority of patients with low-risk prostate cancer needs treatment, but the methods for optimal selection of patients for treatment are not established. This article describes the Study of Active Monitoring in Sweden (SAMS), which aims to improve those methods. MATERIAL AND METHODS: SAMS is a prospective, multicentre study of active surveillance for low-risk prostate cancer. It consists of a randomized part comparing standard rebiopsy and follow-up with an extensive initial rebiopsy coupled with less intensive follow-up and no further scheduled biopsies (SAMS-FU), as well as an observational part (SAMS-ObsQoL). Quality of life is assessed with questionnaires and compared with patients receiving primary curative treatment. SAMS-FU is planned to randomize 500 patients and SAMS-ObsQoL to include at least 500 patients during 5 years. The primary endpoint is conversion to active treatment. The secondary endpoints include symptoms, distant metastases and mortality. All patients will be followed for 10-15 years. RESULTS: Inclusion started in October 2011. In March 2013, 148 patients were included at 13 Swedish urological centres. CONCLUSIONS: It is hoped that the results of SAMS will contribute to fewer patients with indolent, low-risk prostate cancer receiving unnecessary treatment and more patients on active surveillance who need treatment receiving it when the disease is still curable. The less intensive investigational follow-up in the SAMS-FU trial would reduce the healthcare resources allocated to this large group of patients if it replaced the present standard schedule.