Identifying Relative Importance of Quality Attributes of Dining Service for Older Adults Using Conjoint Analysis

Identifying quality attributes with the greatest value to the residents is important if the Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) is to increase the frequency of residents' dining. However, it is not known which specific attribute is relatively more important than others to evaluate foodservice. The purpose of this study is to identify the relative importance of food and service quality attributes in the evaluation of foodservice in CCRe. This study surveyed the independent living residents of three CCRCs in the Midwestern states. Respondents placed great importance on taste and flavor of food which has the highest percentage of utility range ($28.28\%$) and the second greatest on appearance of the server ($23.46\%$) . The important attributes were ultimately used to predict the most preferred choice of food-service for residents. Knowledge of the importance of the attributes would enable the foodservice managers in CCRCs to manipulate those attributes to enhance the residents' perceptions of quality and identify strategies for continuous improvement.