TY - JOUR T1 - The effectiveness of protected mealtimes in hospital remains unclear JF - Evidence Based Nursing JO - Evid Based Nurs SP - 86 LP - 86 DO - 10.1136/eb-2017-102691 VL - 20 IS - 3 AU - Adrienne Young Y1 - 2017/07/01 UR - http://ebn.bmj.com/content/20/3/86.abstract N2 - Commentary on: Porter J, Haines TP, Truby H. The efficacy of protected mealtimes in hospitalised patients: a stepped wedge cluster randomised controlled trial. BMC Med 2017;15:25.There remains no evidence to support that protected mealtimes improve outcomes for hospital patients, likely due to ineffective implementation.In practice, a focus on ‘assisted mealtimes’ may be beneficial.Future research is warranted and should include a carefully designed implementation and evaluation approach appropriate for complex interventions.Researchers should involve patients/carers when designing trials to ensure inclusion of patient-centred outcomes.It is well established that people eat poorly while in hospital. This is often blamed on the hospital food; however, inadequate dietary intake and consequent malnutrition (affecting 25%–30% of inpatients) is much more complex than it seems. Factors limiting intake includes those related to acute illness, hospital processes and mealtime environment. Protected mealtimes (PM; where non-urgent interruptions and … ER -