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Barriers to Oral Food Intake for Children Admitted to Hospital
Laura E Carter1,2, Natalie Klatchuk2, Kyla Sherman2
1Nutrition Services, Alberta Health Services, Edmonton, AB.
Insights
Hospitalized children face unique barriers to eating, impacting their nutrition. Key issues include food service organization, hunger, quality, illness effects, choice, and physical limitations, requiring tailored solutions.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nutrition
- Hospital Foodservice
- Patient Experience
Background:
- Hospitalized children are susceptible to malnutrition due to inadequate oral intake.
- Existing research on intake barriers primarily focuses on adults, leaving a gap in pediatric understanding.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and categorize the barriers to oral food intake experienced by hospitalized children.
- To inform improvements in hospital food services for pediatric patients.
Main Methods:
- A survey was administered to 58 patients and their families across surgery and medicine units at Stollery Children's Hospital.
- Barriers were systematically classified into six distinct domains for analysis.
Main Results:
- Organization (74%), hunger (67%), and food quality (60%) were the most frequently reported barrier domains.
- Major barriers included hunger, dissatisfaction with ordered meals, poor food quality, decreased appetite, sickness, fatigue, and pain.
- On average, each patient encountered barriers affecting 22% of all identified factors.
Conclusions:
- Hospitalized children experience unique and significant barriers to oral intake that differ from adults.
- Current food service models may not adequately address these pediatric-specific challenges.
- Addressing identified barriers is crucial for improving nutritional status and patient outcomes in hospitalized children.
Abstract:
Children are at risk for malnutrition in hospital, and a contributing factor may be poor oral intake. Barriers to intake have been studied in adults, but there is a lack of research in children. The purpose of this study was to identify the potential barriers to oral intake for children in hospital. Patients and families (n = 58) admitted to surgery and medicine units at the Stollery Children's Hospital completed a survey on barriers to oral food intake. Barriers were classified into 6 domains and major barriers were those identified by at least 30% of the population. On average each patient was affected by 22% of the barriers. Within each domain, the proportion of patients identifying at least 1 barrier was as follows: organization (74%), hunger (67%), quality (60%), effects of illness (53%), choice (38%), and physical limitations (29%). Having food brought in from home due to hunger, not wanting what was ordered once it arrives, food quality, decreased appetite, sickness, fatigue, and pain were identified as major barriers. Children have unique barriers to oral food intake in hospital which have not been previously identified. Food service models should consider these barriers to better meet the needs of this population.
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