Understanding hospital meal experiences by means of participant-driven-photo-elicitation

A patients’ hospital meal experiences can be complex and often difficult to capture using traditional
methods. This study investigated patients’ hospital meal experiences using participant-driven-photoelicitation
(PDPE). PDPE invites respondents to photograph their daily lives and combines this with interviews,
which can provide deeper insight into multisensory experiences beyond verbal or written discourse.
The sample consisted of eight hospitalised patients. Patients completed a photo-essay of their
hospital meal experience during a single day at a Danish hospital and afterwards participated in an
open-ended interview. Two inductive analytical approaches were selected to assess the patients’ reflections
on their hospital meal experiences. First, the interview transcripts were analysed using the Semiotic
Analysis approach using qualitative data analysis software NVivo 9. Second, the 91 produced photographs
and the participants’ engagement with the photographs were analysed by means of a Reflexive Content
Analysis. The study found that PDPE is a research method that can be used for expanding the conceptualisation
of hospital meal experiences, revealing the significance of the meal context, materiality and
memories beyond food per se.