Amplifying the quiet patient voices: Capturing patient meal experiences through proxy feedback

Area of Science:

• Healthcare quality improvement
• Patient experience research
• Geriatric care

Background:

• Traditional patient meal experience evaluations focus on sensory, environmental, and nutritional aspects.
• Existing methods often exclude patients with communication barriers (frailty, cognitive, language), limiting data representativeness.
• A novel approach using healthcare staff proxy feedback was explored to include 'quiet patients'.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore patient mealtime experiences via proxy feedback from healthcare staff.
• To evaluate the utility and effectiveness of staff proxy feedback in capturing 'quiet patients'' perspectives.
• To assess the potential of real-time proxy feedback for inclusive patient experience assessment.

Main Methods:

• Exploratory qualitative study utilizing interpretive description methodology.
• Proxy feedback was collected via staff logs over a four-week period in a geriatric and rehabilitation facility.
• Staff focus groups were conducted to evaluate the methodology's effectiveness and utility.

Main Results:

• Thematic analysis of 78 staff logs identified four key themes related to patient meal experiences.
• Focus group analysis revealed two main themes regarding the proxy feedback tool's utility.
• Key themes included patient needs ('What about me?'), sensory appeal, and the importance of food.

Conclusions:

• Proxy feedback effectively amplifies the voices of patients unable to provide direct input.
• This method complements traditional patient surveys, offering real-time convenience and user-friendliness.
• The approach provides a valuable adjunct for a more inclusive understanding of patient mealtime experiences.