Staff perceptions of the nursing home group dining activity: interdisciplinary issues

The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe nursing home staffs' perceptions of issues within the group dining room. Data were collected from a convenience sample of nursing home staff attending presentations of a multi-site workshop. Participants (N = 103) from various disciplines wrote responses to open-ended questions pertaining to their facilities, strengths and weaknesses within the dining activity. Content analysis generated five major categories including: Resident Issues, Physical Environment, Psychosocial Environment, Food and Serving Process, and Staffing Issues. These categories summarize both challenges and successes providing direction for an interdisciplinary approach to the group dining room.