The objective of the study was to know the perception of patients about feeding in a reference hospital for the National Humanization Politics. It is a qualitative research with twenty-six in depth and half-structuralized interviews had been carried through. The interviews were applied to internee patients (adults and elders) with four or more days in health clinic. The study revealed that the patients approved the good attendance and the humanized health team care. The feeding is perceived as part of the institution rules, relating it with the disease and the health recovery. Also, the companion presence, the hospital environment, medicines and sensorial aspects are considered to influence the feeding acceptance. The meal time was considered a model to be followed. The patients had demonstrated difficulty in revealing opinions about changes in the feeding or routines. The meal time is an interaction moment among the patients, companions and health team. The study concluded that in order to eat well in a hospital depends on what the patients is allowed to because of their diseases, showing that, there is no hospital food identification with their feeding history, preferences or habits in life.
Collective feeding; Patients; Hospital nutrition and feeding units; Qualitative research