

Volume 4, Issue 3 (Suppl)
Health Care: Current Reviews
ISSN: 2375-4273 HCCR, an open access journal
Page 26
Notes:
Primary Care Congress 2016
September 19-20, 2016
conferenceseries
.com
September 19-20, 2016 Phoenix, USA
2
nd
Annual Congress and Medicare Expo on
Primary Care & General Pediatrics
Hospital food services: Dealing with cultural influences on food consumption patterns
Maha A Al Turki
King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Saudi Arabia
D
iet and nutrition play an important role in promoting recovery fromdifferent illnesses. Patient's nutritional status often deteriorate
during hospitalization; a study has shown that nutritional status was declined in 29% of well-nourished patients during their
hospital stay. Besides health reasons and hospital environment, food habits and preferences are one of the important factors affecting
food intake of hospitalized patients. Food habits are the main aspect of many cultures, and cannot therefore be easily changed, or else
it will affect food intake and meals pattern. Saudi people from different distinct regions eat different foods and have different food
habits. The food ingredients, type, cooking methods and preservation techniques vary among these regions. Hospitalized patients
often find it difficult to adjust, from their traditional food, to a standard hospital menu. This may result in reducing intake of food
and increasing risk of malnutrition. One major step in promoting good nutritional care in hospitals is to ensure that hospital menus
take into consideration patients’ needs and preferences. Moreover, patients should be involved in planning their meals and choosing
their food items in order to customize their dietary plan to accelerate recovery from illness and reduce the length of hospital stay. In
my presentation I will discuss the difficulties that some patients admitted to King Abdulaziz Medical City (KAMC)/Riyadh may face
with food presented to them. I will also discuss the methods that are used by the hospital Food Service department to assess patient
satisfaction with the food available (e.g. tray assessment method), and how these methods can be used to explore the reasons for low
food consumption of some patients. Moreover, I will present the results and examples of tray assessment process for hospitalized
patients over two weeks. The process of dealing with patients to fulfill their dietary requirements and preparing meals in accordance
with their tradition and preference will also be discussed.
Biography
Maha A Al Turki obtained a Master of Medical Sciences in Human Nutrition in 2006 and PhD of Human Nutrition in 2014, both from the University of Sheffield/UK.
Upon her return to Saudi Arabia, she joined King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS) in Riyadh as an Assistant Professor of Clinical
Nutrition. In her pursuit of academic excellence she is currently studying for a Master Degree of Medical Education at KSAU-HS. At present, she is holding a position
of Assistant Dean at the College of Applied Medical Sciences at KSAU-HS.
TurkiM@ksau-hs.edu.saMaha A Al Turki, Health Care: Current Reviews 2016, 4:3(Suppl)
http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2375-4273.C1.023