Nursing Home Food Service Questionnaires Resulted in Unreliable Data

Most nursing home food service questionnaires had flaws in validity and reliability, which presents challenges for measuring stakeholder satisfaction, according to new research.

A systematic review published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics aimed at identifying and evaluating the psychometric properties of questionnaires used to measure food service satisfaction among stakeholders in nursing homes. Stakeholders included staff, who prepare and distribute meals, and consumers, such as residents and family members.

Researchers searched 5 electronic databases (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Medline, ProQuest, Scopus, and Cochrane) in April 2020, and used the Consensus-Based Standards for the Selection of Health Measurement Instruments to critically appraise the psychometric properties of questionnaires.

Of 129 studies that used a questionnaire to measure satisfaction, only 22 adequately explored aspects of food service. Of those 22 studies, 7 questionnaires were identified, of which 5 were intended for residents and 2 for staff.

Researchers found that “most questionnaires had flaws in content validity and construct validity, primarily due to small sample sizes.” The family perspective on food service satisfaction was also absent across all questionnaires.

“Nursing homes collect satisfaction information for accreditation, marketing, benchmarking, and quality improvement,” study authors concluded. “Using unreliable satisfaction data may mean that nursing homes are not accurately able to understand the impact of changes in the system on stakeholder satisfaction.”

Reference:
Pankhurst M, Yaxley A, Miller M. Identification and critical appraisal of food service satisfaction questionnaires for use in nursing homes: A systematic review [published online ahead of print July 1, 2021]. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2021;S2212-2672(21)00342-7. doi:10.1016/j.jand.2021.05.017