Evaluation of the recipient's satisfaction with meals and service from Meals-On-Wheels (MOW)

Abstract

The average age of the population in the United States is increasing every year. As the number of elderly increased, the need for home-delivered meal programs such as Meals-On-Wheels became crucial. This study was designed to evaluate the recipients’ satisfaction with meals and services from Meals-On-Wheels in Lubbock, TX. Out of three-hundred-ninety-eight questionnaires distributed, two-hundred-sixty-five questionnaires were collected; the response rate was 66.6%. Among the two-hundred-sixty-five questionnaires, two-hundred-nine questionnaires were analyzed in this study. Every recipient was asked about their perceptions of meals and services from Meals-On-Wheels in Lubbock, TX. The three factors identified were total meal quality (α = .934), volunteer issues (α = .943), and responsiveness (α = .643); the dependent variable was derived from three main satisfaction levels (satisfaction, α = .654). A multiple regression was conducted to assess the relationships between them (F = 122.821, p = .000). The suggested equation was expressed as: S = .989 + .656 TMQ (ß = .656) + .398 VI (ß = .398) + .199 RS (ß = .199). The findings show that the average scores of the recipients’ perceptions with meals and services were high overall. But, there was no significant difference between males and females based on t-test results. Finally, there was the significant relationship between the satisfaction and the intention to recommend based on linear regression (F = 127.574, p = .000, ß = 1.031, p = .000).