Nutritional Knowledge, Confidence, Attitudes towards Nutritional Care and Nutrition Counselling Practice among General Practitioners

Abstract

Nutritional care represents any practice provided by a health professional, aimed to improve the patient’s health outcomes by influencing patient’s dietary habits. Clearly, dietitians are the ones supposed to provide top-quality nutrition care, but their services are often inaccessible to many for various reasons. This obliges general practitioners (GPs) in primary health care to provide nutritional counselling to their patients to a certain extent. Preconditions to successful nutritional counselling are GPs with adequate nutritional knowledge, positive attitudes towards nutrition and nutritional care, self-confident and competent in nutritional counselling. Therefore, the aim of this review is to summarise currently available information on nutritional knowledge, confidence and attitudes towards nutritional care and nutrition counselling practice of GPs, as well as barriers towards provision of nutritional counselling. GPs do not consistently obtain satisfying results in nutrition knowledge assessments and their self-confidence in nutrition counselling skills varies. Studies suggest that nutritional counselling practice still has not met its full potential, and GPs frequently report various barriers that impair nutritional counselling practice. Thus, health policies that help overcome barriers and create stimulating environment for GPs to implement nutrition counselling strategies efficiently are the key to improving quality and quantity of nutritional counselling.

Assessment of technical knowledge on oral nutritional therapy between physicians and the nursing team of a private institution

“…A total of 105 professionals were included in this study, including 34 physicians (32.4%) and 71 nursing staff (67.6%). Among the nursing staff, 35 were nursing technicians (33.3%), 35 were nurses (33.3%), and only 1 was a nursing assistant (1%). In the physician category, 11 were physicians (10.5%), and 23 were residents (21.9%).…”

“…Such care should involve all health professionals such as dietitians, physicians, and nurses at all levels of care involving nutritional screening, assessment, planning, implementation, evaluation and ultimately the monitoring of evidence-based care delivery. [34] The study by Vrkatić et al (2022) [35] points out that high-quality continuing medical education related to nutrition is capable of increasing medical knowledge and skills in relation to nutritional care, training professionals with greater confidence in the skills needed for nutritional interventions. This also mentions that the lack of training and nutritional education can have a vital impact on the nutritional information provided to patients, which may compromise the safety and efficiency of nutritional counseling, putting the patient at risk.…”

Determinants of lifestyle and body weight status among breast cancer survivors with overweight/obesity and perspectives towards the development of weight loss interventions: a qualitative study with health professionals from Greece

“…Barriers such as time journals.cambridge.org/jns constraints, lack of nutrition education, negative perceptions of the importance of diet and low interest in the topic of nutrition may lead to low self-confidence in providing nutritional counselling among General Practitioners. (21) Specialties such as oncologists, surgeons, and nurses engage in discussions with their patients regarding weight management but may not have the required knowledge. (22) In a study conducted by the American Society of Clinical Oncology, over 85% of oncologists agreed weight management support should be part of cancer treatment interventions but less than 40% had the knowledge and training to address issues related to obesity.…”

Practical strategies to manage obesity in type 2 diabetes

“…83,84 While acknowledging that behavioural changes towards a healthy lifestyle are a fundamental pillar of weight management, many HCPs do not feel confident in providing nutritional counselling. 85 Educational gaps may also lead to the common misconception that individuals can fully control their body weight through lifestyle interventions without external assistance, disregarding the multifaceted aetiology and pathophysiology of obesity. 86 There is also some lack of willingness to address these barriers in primary care settings, as many primary care physicians see their role in weight management as one of awareness raising and signposting rather than proactive prevention or weight monitoring.…”

“…Unfortunately, structural problems, including lack of time and resources, as well as gaps in HCP education, are major barriers to this approach 83,84 . While acknowledging that behavioural changes towards a healthy lifestyle are a fundamental pillar of weight management, many HCPs do not feel confident in providing nutritional counselling 85 . Educational gaps may also lead to the common misconception that individuals can fully control their body weight through lifestyle interventions without external assistance, disregarding the multifaceted aetiology and pathophysiology of obesity 86 .…”