Purpose: Hand function plays a major role in the successful performance of activities of daily living (ADLs), such as eating. There is a lack of data exploring how persons with hand impairment manage food packaging and its impact on eating.

Methods: A convenience sample of 12 inpatients with hand impairments undergoing rehabilitation participated in a qualitative interview where they were asked questions about their experiences with food packaging and independent eating, and asked to open a set of commonly available hospital food packages, first without any tools/aids, and then with tools/aids if they desired to use them. Audio data were transcribed and cross-referenced with video data. Data were analyzed using codebook thematic analysis.

Results: An overarching theme of "Messiness" along with four major themes were identified: a) Inaccessibility of food packaging; b) Lack of control; c) Eating avoidance; and d) Preferred packaging and strategies.

Conclusions: Inpatients with a hand impairment often experience several challenges with independent eating while in hospital as a result of their difficulties with hard to open food packaging. A greater consideration of universal design principles may be relevant for designers to make packaging more accessible.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2023.2247982DOI Listing

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