Reforming foodservice in elderly care: National actions and local outcomes (original) (raw)

2018, Nutrition & dietetics: the journal of the Dietitians Association of Australia

The aim was to explore the outcome, on a local level, of steering, organisation and practices of elderly care foodservice by Swedish municipalities, and changes relative to national actions. A survey using a web-based questionnaire about elderly care foodservice targeting all Swedish municipalities (n = 290) was conducted in 2006 and 2013/2014. The questionnaire included the topics: organisation of foodservice, its practice in elderly care and steering devices such as guidelines and policies. Based on the share of a rural population, municipalities were divided into groups: rural (≥50%), urban (<50%) and city (≤20%). The response rate from municipalities was 80% in 2006 and 56% in 2013/2014; 45% participated in both surveys. The results showed increased use of local food policies (P = 0.03) and meal choice (P < 0.001), while access to clinical/community dietitians declined (P = 0.01) between the surveys. In home-help services, daily delivered cook-serve meals declined (P < ...