Table 1.

Questions included in the current international practice survey by stakeholder group

Question	Response options	Patients and their carers or support organizations	Healthcare professionals and food service staff	Dysphagia research scholars	Industry representatives
What country are you located in?	Free text	X	X	X	X
How would you describe yourself?	An adult with dysphagia	X
	I care for an adult with dysphagia	X
	I care for a child with dysphagia	X
	I am a member of an organization that specifically supports people with dysphagia	X
	I am a member of an organization that supports children with dysphagia	X
	Healthcare professional (specify)		X
	Food service or catering professional		X
	Representative of company manufacturing thickeners, thickened liquids, or barium				X
	Representative of company manufacturing texture-modified foods				X
What is your work setting?	Hospital/acute care		X	X
	Rehab hospital		X
	Long-term care/Home for the aged		X
	Community care		X
	Outpatient clinic		X
	University			X
	Government or private laboratory			X
Who are your patients/clients?	Adults		X
	Children		X
	Mixed age group		X
What type(s) of dysphagia research do you conduct?	Clinical research into oropharyngeal dysphagia			X
	Clinical research into esophageal dysphagia			X
	Fundamental swallowing research			X
	Product development			X
	Other (specify)
Do you/the person you care for/your patients use	Texture-modified foods	X	X
	Commercially prepared texture-modified foods	X	X
	Thickened liquids	X	X
	Commercially prepared thickened liquids	X	X
	A combination of the above	X	X
Do you use standard terminology and guidelines for texture-modified foods and liquid thicknesses?	Yes/No/I don’t know with comments option	X	X
Do you produce thickened liquids or products that will thicken liquids, for people with swallowing difficulties or those who are nutritionally compromised?	Ready-to-use drinks				X
	Powder thickeners				X
	Liquid thickeners				X
	Other (specify)				X
Do you produce thickened liquids, thickening agents, or barium products specifically for people with dysphagia?	Yes/No with comments option				X
Do you produce foods for people with chewing and swallowing difficulties or those who are nutritionally compromised?	Ready-to-eat frozen meals				X
	Ready-to-eat packaged foods (tins, pouches)				X
	Foods that need reconstituting				X
	Other (specify)				X
Do you produce texture-modified foods specifically for people with dysphagia?	Yes/No with comments option				X
Which terms do you use for texture-modified foods and liquid thicknesses	Terms for texture-modified foods (from least to most modified, separated by a comma)	X	X	X	X
	Terms for thickened liquids (from least to most modified, separated by a comma)	X	X	X	X
Where did you source the terms you use for thickened liquids and texture-modified foods?	National standards			X	X
	From the literature			X	X
	Self-developed			X	X
	Hospital or work facility			X	X
	Other (specify)			X	X
Do you test the consistency of foods or liquids before eating or serving?	Yes/No with comments option	X	X
How do you determine whether liquids are of the correct thickness?	Free text			X
How do you determine if foods are of the correct texture?	Free text			X
Do you formally test thickened liquids or texture-modified foods as part of your research?	Liquids: always/usually/rarely/never with comments option			X
	Food: always/usually/rarely/never with comments option			X
	Barium: always/usually/rarely/never with comments option			X
For thickened liquids (including barium), do you record information about:	Viscosity: always/usually/rarely/never with comments option			X	X
	Density: always/usually/rarely/never with comments option			X	X
	Yield stress: always/usually/rarely/never with comments option			X	X
If you formally evaluate thickened liquids or texture-modified foods, what measurement device(s) do you use? (For industry respondents, target measurement details were requested for each method)	Visual inspection				X
	Line spread test			X	X
	Bostwick consistometer			X	X
	Brookfield viscometer			X	X
	Cone and plate or parallel plate rheometer			X	X
	Other rheometer			X	X
	Food texture analyzer			X	X
	Sieve				X
	Image analysis				X
	Other (specify)			X	X
For texture-modified foods, do you record information about	Particle size: always/usually/rarely/never with comments option			X	X
	Cohesiveness: always/usually/rarely/never with comments option			X	X
	Adhesiveness: always/usually/rarely/never with comments option			X	X
	Firmness: always/usually/rarely/never with comments option			X	X
	Springiness: always/usually/rarely/never with comments option			X	X
	Brittleness or fracturability: always/usually/rarely/never with comments option			X	X
	Hardness: always/usually/rarely/never with comments option			X	X
	Yield stress: always/usually/rarely/never with comments option			X	X
	Other (specify)			X	X
Do you use a scheme (colors, numbers, shapes, etc.) to differentiate/communicate the different food textures and liquid thicknesses?	Yes/No with comments option	X	X		X
What problems, if any, are there with the terminology or definitions you currently use for thickened liquids or texture-modified foods?				X	X
Where do you distribute your products?	Locally/regionally/nationally/internationally with product type identified				X
Are there any other comments or recommendations you would like to make for the International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative?	Free text	X	X	X	X
Additional optional information	Name and address for future contact	X	X	X	X