Size Matters! Differences in Nutritional Care between Small, Medium and Large Nursing Homes in Germany.

Objectives: The aim of this study is to comprehensively describe nutritional care in German nursing homes (NHs) and to examine if nutritional care differs between small, medium and large NHs.

Design: Nationwide cross-sectional postal survey.

Setting: Nursing homes.

Participants: 541 NHs across Germany.

Measurements: Information on structural NH characteristics and nutritional care (food provision and menu planning, nursing care, and management and quality assurance) was collected by means of a questionnaire addressed to the management of a random sample of German NHs. NHs were grouped by size as small (≤ 50 beds), medium (50 - 100 beds) or large (> 100 beds) institutions. Frequencies were used to describe nutritional care, and Chi2-test to identify differences in nutritional care by NH size.

Results: Aspects in the domain of food provision and menu planning regarding food variety and choice were widely implemented in German NHs (77 - 100 %). Best results were achieved in the domain of nursing care, where all aspects were implemented in at least 68 % of the NHs. Aspects regarding management and quality assurance, especially those concerning staffing, i.e. the availability of an interface manager (14 %), an interdisciplinary nutrition team (12 %) and a dietician (42 %), were only rarely implemented. Differences by NH size were found between small and medium or large NHs. On the one hand, small NHs stated more often to consider individual capabilities of the residents with texture-modified food (81 % vs. 60 %, p<0.05) and produce more often hot meals at ward level on a regular base (46 % vs. 32 %, p<0.05) than large NHs. On the other hand, several aspects regarding food provision and menu planning, and management and quality assurance were significantly more often implemented in larger than smaller NHs.

Conclusion: Whereas kitchen and nursing-related aspects of nutritional care seem to be widely implemented in German NHs, management and quality assurance demands are often not met. The differences found by NH size support the hypothesis that the number of residents living in a NH has an impact on how nutritional care is performed.