title: The nutritional and nursing benefits of social mealtimes.
abstract: Hospital-induced malnutrition is a major care issue for nurses. Society values meals as social occasions and as an expression of community, but hospitals tend to break with this tradition. This paper proposes that making patient mealtimes a social occasion offers nurses a chance to improve nutritional care, enhance opportunities for communication and give patients a welcome break from the ward routine.
authors.affiliation: Bath Royal United Hospital NHS Trust.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wykes
mesh_terms: D005247:Feeding Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D009748:Nutrition Disorders / Q000451:nursing / Q000517:prevention & control; D009747:Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D012919:Social Behavior