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Table 8 Barriers to Food Intake by Site (n = 700)

From: Need for the Integrated Nutrition Pathway for Acute Care (INPAC): gaps in current nutrition care in five Canadian hospitals

Barriers to food intake

Overall

(N = 700)

% (n)

Site A

(N = 152)

% (n)

Site B

(N = 119)

% (n)

Site C

(N = 159)

% (n)

Site D

(N = 131)

% (n)

Site E

(N = 139)

% (n)

 % of audits with barriers identified

84.6 (592)**

79.6 (121)

84.9 (101)

76.1 (121)

90.1 (118)

94.2 (131)

Most common barriers identified

(n = 592)

% (n)

(n = 121)

% (n)

(n = 101)

% (n)

(n = 121)

% (n)

(n = 118)

% (n)

(n = 131)

% (n)

 Needs positioning

17.7 (105)**

9.9 (12)

13.9 (14)

28.9 (35)

18.6 (22)

16.8 (22)

 Needs meal set-up

21.6 (128)**

19 (23)

24.8 (25)

30.6 (37)

22 (26)

13 (17)

 Requires eating assistance

15.7 (93)**

9.9 (12)

9.9 (10)

29.8 (36)

1.7 (2)

25.2 (33)

 Reduced appetite

17.4 (103)**

10.7 (13)

3.0 (3)

17.4 (21)

11 (13)

40.5 (53)

 Cognitive impairment

22 (130)**

25.6 (31)

5.9 (6)

40.5 (49)

3.5 (4)

30.5 (40)

 Swallowing difficulty

22.5 (133)**

9.1 (11)

7.9 (8)

18.2 (22)

39.8 (47)

34.4 (45)

 Constipation

38.8 (227)**

38.8 (47)

39.6 (40)

12.4 (15)

48.3 (57)

51.9 (68)

 Nausea/vomiting

33.4 (198)**

35.5 (43)

29.7 (30)

15.7 (19)

46.6 (55)

38.9 (51)

 Pain

58.8 (348)**

45.5 (55)

42.6 (43)

38.8 (47)

68.3 (98)

80.2 (105)

  1. More than one barrier may have been identified per audit
  2. **indicates statistically significant difference across sites (p < 0.0001)