Patients' experiences of the meal during single-room hospital accommodation

Worldwide, hospital design is changing to mainly single-room accommodation. However, literature exploring mealtime during hospitalization in single-rooms is sparse. Thus, we aimed to investigate how patients admitted to single-rooms experience mealtime situations. The study employed an ethnographical phenomenological design using the go-along method. From April to September 2022, 40 hours of meal-related observations and informal conversations with 10 patients were completed in a Danish cardiac medical ward and a vascular surgery ward. Data were analyzed using a Ricoeur-inspired method. The study revealed that the majority of patients experience a slight decrease in appetite during hospitalization. However, according to the patients, the single-room hospital design had no impact on their appetite. The study showed that the majority of patients chose to eat alone in their rooms; either because they were unwell, found it difficult to walk around, or simply wanted peace and their own company. However, some patients chose to eat in the common dining room, namely, to experience a social gathering and have mealtime stretch out into an otherwise rather long day. Based on observations and conversations with the patients, the study concludes that the patients do not experience that single-room accommodation affects their appetite and the meal experience. Most patients eat alone during hospitalization and patients do not feel that their food intake would have been different if they had been admitted to a multi-bed hospital room.