Confidence and Attitudes of Doctors and Dietitians towards Nutrition Care and Nutrition Advocacy for Hospital Patients in Kolkata, India

Table 2

Attitudes of doctors and dietitians towards nutrition care ().

Item	Agree		Neutral		Disagree		Difference between groups
	Doctor	Dietitian	Doctor	Dietitian	Doctor	Dietitian
	(%)	(%)	(%)	(%)	(%)	(%)
Nutrition advice and counselling should be part of routine care by all healthcare professionals, regardless of specialty.	114 (93)	49 (88)	7 (6)	0 (0)	0 (0)	6 (11)	> 0.05^*
It is important to address the importance of diet whenever caring for a patient.	116 (94)	54 (96)	3 (2)	0 (0)	1 (1)	1 (1)	> 0.05^*
Most doctors are not adequately trained to discuss nutrition with patients.	76 (62)	39 (70)	21 (17)	13 (23)	24 (20)	3 (5)	Dietitians agree more than doctors,
It is important to advocate diet and activity balance to promote weight control.	111 (90)	53 (95)	7 (6)	2 (4)	1 (1)	0 (0)	> 0.05^*
It is important to recognise and treat risk of malnutrition as required.	115 (93)	53 (95)	5 (4)	1 (2)	0 (0)	1 (2)	> 0.05^*
Patients requiring more specialised nutrition advice require referral to a dietitian/nutritionist.	111 (90)	54 (96)	6 (5)	0 (0)	3 (2)	0 (0)	> 0.05^*
Doctors require the support of health professionals such as nurses and dietitians to reinforce patient nutrition education.	113 (92)	51 (91)	8 (7)	3 (5)	0 (0)	0 (0)	> 0.05^*
Dietitians require the support of healthcare professionals such as doctors and nurses to reinforce patient nutrition education.	114 (93)	52 (93)	6 (5)	2 (4)	0 (0)	1 (2)	> 0.05^*

* violated the assumptions of chi-square analyses (expected cell count <5).