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Stroke

Exploring the Role of Food Packaging on Independent Eating in Persons with Hand Impairments.

Thursday, November 2, 2023
10:00 AM – 10:06 AM  
Location: Station 2

    Presenting Author(s)

  • Sander L. Hitzig, PhD

    Program Research Director
    St. John's Rehab Research Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    • Non-presenting Author(s)

  • SD

    Siobhan Donaghy, MSc(OT), BSc(OT), OT Reg.(Ont)

    Professional Practice Leader - Occupational Therapy
    Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and University of Toronto
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada

  • SW

    Susan Wang

    Occupational Therapist
    University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada

  • CT

    Candice Tay

    Occupational Therapist
    University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada

  • Stephanie R. Cimino, MSc (she/her/hers)

    PhD Candidate
    Rehabilitation Sciences Institute, University of Toronto
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada

  • SS

    Sylvia Szkudlarek

    Interior Designer
    Social Innovation Consultancy, Ontario, Canada

  • SW

    Stuart Werle

    Associate Professor
    OCAD University
    Toronto, Canada

  • WL

    Wendy Lopez-Pollard, RD

    Registered Dietitian
    St. John's Rehab, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Ontario, Canada

  • EL

    Elizabeth Linkewich

    Director, Regional Stroke and Neurovascular Programs and North & East GTA Stroke Network
    Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Research Objectives: To obtain the in-depth perspectives of patients with hand impairments on their experiences with food packaging and independent eating.

Design: Qualitative descriptive study.

Setting: An inpatient rehabilitation hospital.

Participants: Twelve inpatient participants (6 men and 6 women) with hand impairments resulting from stroke (n=6), trauma (n=2), burns (n=1), neurological conditions (n=2) and rheumatoid arthritis (n=1).

Interventions: Participants were asked a series of questions about their experiences with food packaging and how it influenced their independent eating. Participants were then given a series of challenging food packages that are typically given to patients at mealtime in the hospital. These included: a plastic bottle containing a nutritional drink; juice with aluminum lid; jam packet; pudding with plastic lid; and a small pack of protein powder. Participants were asked to open the objects and provide verbal feedback in real-time on the perceived difficulty or ease of opening the packages. The interviewees were then asked to open the packages again, with the option to use a variety of tools to assist them if they desired, including a butter knife, fork, spoon, straw, paper napkins, scissors, and a non-slip mat intended for stabilizing purposes.

Main Outcome Measures: Not applicable.

Results: Four main themes and accompanying sub-themes were identified, which included: a) Inaccessibility of food packaging; b) Lack of control; c) Eating avoidance; and d) Preferred packaging and strategies. An overarching theme was ‘Messiness', which was an influential factor across all themes. The messiness theme encompassed the physical mess that often would result from opening food packages seen as more challenging as well as the emotional stress it caused, leading participants to avoid eating at times.

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

Author(s) Disclosures: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Learning Objectives:

  • Upon completion, participants will be able to understand the types of challenges different food packaging presents for patients with hand impairments.
  • Upon completion, participants will be able to describe the emotional impact challenging food packages holds on the well-being of patients with hand impairments.
  • Upon completion, participants will be able to describe some ideal strategies and tools that can promote independent eating in patients with hand impairments.