title: Understanding hospital meal experiences by means of participant-driven-photo-elicitation.
abstract: A patients' hospital meal experiences can be complex and often difficult to capture using traditional methods. This study investigated patients' hospital meal experiences using participant-driven-photo-elicitation (PDPE). PDPE invites respondents to photograph their daily lives and combines this with interviews, which can provide deeper insight into multisensory experiences beyond verbal or written discourse. The sample consisted of eight hospitalised patients. Patients completed a photo-essay of their hospital meal experience during a single day at a Danish hospital and afterwards participated in an open-ended interview. Two inductive analytical approaches were selected to assess the patients' reflections on their hospital meal experiences. First, the interview transcripts were analysed using the Semiotic Analysis approach using qualitative data analysis software NVivo 9. Second, the 91 produced photographs and the participants' engagement with the photographs were analysed by means of a Reflexive Content Analysis. The study found that PDPE is a research method that can be used for expanding the conceptualisation of hospital meal experiences, revealing the significance of the meal context, materiality and memories beyond food per se.
authors.affiliation: Research Group for Meal Science & Public Health Nutrition (MENU), Department of Development and Planning, Aalborg University, Copenhagen, Denmark. Electronic address: liju@plan.aau.dk.
authors.forename: Lise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Justesen
authors.affiliation: Research Group for Meal Science & Public Health Nutrition (MENU), Department of Development and Planning, Aalborg University, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Bent E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Mikkelsen
authors.affiliation: Tourism Research Unit, Department of Culture & Global Studies, Aalborg University, Denmark.
authors.forename: Szilvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gyimóthy
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D005521:Food Service, Hospital; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D062407:Meals / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010781:Photography; D036301:Qualitative Research; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Hospital meal experiences; Participant-driven-photo-elicitation; Reflexive Content Analysis; Semiotic Analysis