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

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.