| dc.description.abstract | Public hospitals in Sri Lanka predominantly rely on manual, paper-based dietary
management workflows, which have been reported to be inefficient, error-prone,
and limited in their capacity to support patient-centered nutrition. This situation
contributes to operational inefficiencies and challenges in meeting individualized dietary
requirements, particularly in resource-constrained healthcare settings. The objective of
this study is to evaluate the feasibility and relevance of automated patient-centered meal
planning systems for dietary management in Sri Lankan public hospitals. A systematic
review was conducted using a structured review-based framework to synthesise global
evidence on hospital meal planning automation. Forty-two peer-reviewed studies from
both high-income and low- and middle-income country contexts were analysed. The
findings indicate that automated diet ordering, menu generation, ingredient forecasting,
and optimization-based allocation are associated with reduced food waste, improved
dietary accuracy, and faster workflow execution in most reviewed settings. The reviewed
systems employ mathematical optimization techniques, rule-based decision mechanisms,
and data-driven predictive models to support dietary planning and resource allocation.
The review further identifies that successful adoption in Sri Lankan public hospitals
would require low-cost technological solutions, locally relevant food and nutrition
datasets, staff training, and phased implementation strategies. Overall, the findings
suggest that automated patient-centered meal planning systems represent a feasible
and contextually appropriate intervention to address both nutritional challenges and
operational inefficiencies in Sri Lanka’s public healthcare sector. | en_US |
