Patient hospital foodservice satisfaction: An exploratory framework and analysis

摘要

The use of patient satisfaction in evaluating the quality of foodservice provided, assessing how patients feel about these services, predicting patient behavior, and advancing hospital marketing efforts requires a comprehensive definition that accurately reflects sentiments regarding the major components of hospital foodservice satisfaction. Hospital foodservice professionals currently measure patient foodservice satisfaction without a clear understanding of the framework of interaction among characteristics of dining experience, thereby reducing the reliability and validity of their measures. This study has identified the characteristics of dining experience that are sources of satisfaction and dissatisfaction with hospital foodservice and developed an initial taxonomy that defines major sources of patient foodservice satisfaction.;A hypothesized Taxonomy of Patient Foodservice Satisfaction was developed using a Delphi panel composed of seven hospital foodservice directors. This taxonomy was used to generate opinion statements that were evaluated in terms of their ambiguity and reliability. Thirty-four opinion statements representing all dimensions in the hypothesized taxonomy were chosen and placed in an attitude survey consisting of the opinion statement and a 5-point Likert scale (strongly agree to strongly disagree). The survey was administered to 420 hospitalized patients. Responses to the survey were subjected to factor analysis. Two factors were suggested by the data, Food and Ambiance.;The initial definition of patient hospital foodservice satisfaction established in this study represents a substantial step in the understanding of the dynamics of patient foodservice satisfaction. As has been suggested by other researchers, this attitude is multidimensional and consists of at least two dimensions (Food and Ambiance). This study has established that patients derive satisfaction with hospital foodservice from several specific sources. These sources contain characteristics of the patient's dining experience that the patient views almost synonymously. Dimensions vary independently and, to achieve a full understanding of a patient's satisfaction, dimensions must be measured and interpreted separately.