Nursing home meals as social practices: room for improvement

Meal situations in nursing homes are crucial for residents' identity and quality of life but are often impacted by physical and mental impairments. This ethnographic study conducted in a Danish nursing home aims to explore meal practices as a social practice through eleven interviews with residents and four interviews with healthcare professionals, 100 h of observations, visual methods and thematic analysis. Five meal practices were identified: Convivial-Meal-Practice, Healthy-Meal-Practice, Meal-Practice-as-Before, Hotel-Meal-Practice and Hospitable-Meal-Practice. These practices diverged and were contradictory despite a common goal. The nursing home attempted to replicate a home-like feeling through an individualized approach intertwined with health and conviviality-focused hotel practices, hindering residents from becoming part of a meal community. Hospitality actions and less structured meals allowed residents to engage socially. Recognizing and addressing individual and communal needs can enhance commensality and contribute to a greater focus on the potential of meal situations including meals as an arena for rehabilitation.