Providing Nutrition Care to Patients with Chronic Disease: An Irish Teaching Hospital Healthcare Professional Study
Table 3
Healthcare professionals knowledge, skills, and attitude, ranked in order of agreement.
Items
Extremely or very confident n (%)
Somewhat or not very confident n (%)
No confidence n (%)
Knowledge
How body composition can impact the development of chronic disease
85 (42.7)
108 (54.3)
6 (3)
How food and nutrients influence development and management of chronic disease
69 (34.5)
125 (62.5)
6 (3)
How different body systems are affected by foods and nutrients
65 (32.5)
128 (64)
7 (3.5)
Guidelines for nutrition related management of specific chronic diseases
46 (23.2)
139 (70.2)
13 (6.6)
Irish healthy eating guidelines
41 (21)
135 (69.3)
19 (9.7)
How foods and nutrients interact with medications
30 (15)
151 (75.5)
19 (9.5)
The most recently published peer-reviewed evidence regarding nutrition and chronic disease
12 (6)
112 (56.3)
75 (37.7)
Skills
Interpret biological data
121 (62)
69 (35.4)
5 (2.6)
Collect information on the food an individual usually eats
85 (43.6)
104 (53.3)
5 (2.6)
Interpret compositional data
82 (42.2)
103 (53.1)
9 (4.6)
Maintain clear and concise records regarding the nutrition related assessment and advice provided to individuals
42 (21.7)
127 (65.5)
24 (12.4)
Provide nutrition care that results in improvements in the food that an individual usually eats
42 (21.6)
137 (70.6)
15 (7.7)
Recommend changes in food choices for an individual with chronic disease
34 (17.5)
137 (70.3)
24 (12.3)
Determine appropriate food or nutrition goals for an individual with chronic disease
29 (15)
140 (72.1)
25 (12.9)
Monitor and evaluate changes over time regarding the food an individual usually eats
28 (14.4)
142 (72.8)
24 (12.3)
Use the Irish guide to healthy eating to evaluate the appropriateness of an individuals food intake
24 (12.3)
134 (69.1)
36 (18.6)
Access the most recently published peer-reviewed evidence regarding nutrition and chronic disease
24 (12.3)
142 (72.8)
29 (14.9)
Formulate a meal plan for an individual with chronic disease
18 (9.2)
122 (62.9)
54 (27.8)
Attitude
Somewhat or completely agree n(%)
Neither agree nor disagree n(%)
Somewhat or completely disagree n(%)
If the topic arises, it is important that I encourage my patients/clients to eat healthy food
186 (95.3)
8 (4.1)
1 (0.5)
It is important that I encourage my patients to seek support from other health professionals if I am unable to meet their nutrition-related needs
186 (95.4)
6 (3.1)
3 (1.5)
It is important that all individuals usually eat healthy foods regardless of age, body weight and activity levels
182 (93.3)
6 (3.1)
7 (3.6)
It is important that I take every opportunity possible to encourage my patients/clients to eat healthy foods
182 (93.3)
8 (4.1)
5 (2.6)
Encouraging my patients to eat healthy foods is within my scope of practice
167 (85.7)
22 (11.3)
6 (3.1)
Encouraging my patients/clients to eat healthy foods is an effective use of my professional time
166 (85.6)
23 (11.9)
5 (2.6)
Providing specific nutrition recommendations to my patients that can assist with managing their chronic disease is an effective use of my time
158 (81.5)
21 (10.8)
15 (7.7)
Providing specific nutrition recommendations to my patients that can assist with managing their chronic disease is within the scope of my practice
139 (71.3)
27 (13.8)
29 (14.9)
Positively associated with previous engagement in continuing education on the topic of nutrition (p<0.05). Positively associated with previous nutrition education (p<0.05).
