The Differences in Food Waste Between Soft Diets and Regular Diets Among Class III Inpatients at Pidie Jaya Regional General Hospital

Patient food waste is one of the indicators used to assess the success of hospital nutrition services. High levels of food waste indicate low food consumption, which may negatively affect nutritional intake, delay the healing process, and increase hospital operational costs. The type of diet provided to patients is assumed to influence the amount of food waste. Soft diets and regular diets have different characteristics in terms of texture, form, and patient acceptance, which may result in differences in food waste.This study aimed to determine the differences in food waste between soft diets and regular diets among Class III inpatients at Pidie Jaya Regional General Hospital. This research employed a comparative analytical design with a cross-sectional approach. The population consisted of all Class III inpatients who received either a soft diet or a regular diet during the study period. The sample consisted of 46 respondents selected using a purposive sampling technique. Food waste was measured using the Comstock visual estimation method. Data were analyzed using univariate analysis to describe respondent characteristics and bivariate analysis using the Independent Sample t-Test for normally distributed data or the Mann-Whitney test for non-normally distributed data, with a confidence level of 95% (α = 0.05). The results showed that the average percentage of food waste among patients receiving a soft diet was 64,27%, while among those receiving a regular diet it was 54,42%. Statistical analysis indicated that there was/was not a significant difference in food waste between patients receiving soft diets and those receiving regular diets among Class III inpatients at Pidie Jaya Regional General Hospital, with a p-value of 0,002 (p<0.05). In conclusion, there was a significant difference in food waste between soft diets and regular diets among Class III inpatients at Pidie Jaya Regional General Hospital. It is recommended that the hospital improve the quality of its food service, particularly regarding taste, menu variation, and food presentation, in order to reduce patient food waste.