New Zealand Medical Students Have Positive Attitudes and Moderate Confidence in Providing Nutrition Care: A Cross-Sectional Survey
Table 3
Students’ confidence in providing nutrition care to patients, ranked in order of agreement ( = 183).
Items
Confident (%)
Uncertain (%)
Not confident (%)
Calculating body mass index (BMI) and waist-hip ratio based on gender.
149 (81)
25 (14)
8 (5)
Explaining the overall benefits of aerobic exercise on health and well-beinga.
140 (77)
33 (18)
10 (5)
Explaining the significance of modest weight loss for patients with type two diabetesa.
136 (75)
38 (21)
9 (5)
Defining moderate alcohol consumption and its role in health and disease.
129 (70)
49 (27)
5 (3)
Interpreting growth charts and pertinent trends for a child with failure to thrivea.
132 (72)
43 (24)
8 (4)
Explaining the maternal and infant benefits and challenges anticipated with breast feedinga,b.
124 (67)
43 (23)
16 (9)
Explaining the role of dietary cholesterol and saturated fats in elevating blood lipidsa,b.
120 (66)
51 (28)
12 (6)
Recommending dietary patterns for patients with type 2 diabetes.
113 (62)
56 (31)
14 (8)
Explaining the role of water and hydration in health based on activity level and age.
106 (58)
59 (32)
19 (10)
Recognising the warning signs and symptoms of patients with eating disorders.
98 (54)
64 (35)
21 (11)
Explaining avoidance of cross contamination when preparing and storing foodsa,b.
94 (51)
65 (36)
24 (13)
Recognising nutritional risk in elderly patientsa.
88 (48)
79 (43)
16 (9)
Explaining common nutrient deficiencies of adolescent womenb.
78 (43)
77 (42)
28 (15)
Giving advice on breast feeding or formula feeding for an infant with colic.
76 (42)
72 (39)
35 (19)
Giving nutrition strategies for individuals losing weight due to chronic cachexiaa.
73 (40)
70 (38)
40 (22)
Implementing strategies for osteoporosis prevention, including nutrition and lifestyle advicea,b.
70 (38)
81 (44)
32 (18)
Addressing nutrition concerns of patients with gastrointestinal intolerances, maldigestion, or malabsorptiona,b.
71 (39)
71 (39)
41 (22)
Giving examples of serving sizes of meat or dairy from the Ministry of Health serving guidea,b.
68 (37)
79 (43)
36 (20)
Explaining the indications and contraindications for enteral and parenteral nutritionb.
66 (36)
84 (46)
33 (18)
Explaining potentially harmful interactions of medications with herbal or botanical supplementsa.
64 (35)
77 (42)
42 (23)
Explaining the reported health risks of high protein/high fat diets such as the Atkins dieta,b.
61 (33)
81 (44)
41 (23)
Assessing total kilojoules and saturated fat per portion of food by using the nutrition labela,b.
58 (32)
71 (39)
54 (29)
Indicating the use of single vitamins (i.e., A, C, E) or multivitamin supplementsb.
55 (30)
79 (43)
49 (27)
Explaining the role of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in heart health.
51 (28)
78 (42)
54 (30)
Giving an explanation of the benefits of probiotics.
50 (27)
76 (42)
57 (31)
Explaining the kilojoules per gram of protein, carbohydrate, and fat and their basic metabolic roles.
49 (27)
68 (37)
66 (36)
Explaining the role of genetics, diet, and pharmacology in weight loss regimesa,b.
47 (26)
89 (48)
47 (26)
Explaining how to identify antioxidant-rich produce while grocery shoppinga,b.
44 (24)
81 (44)
58 (32)
Explaining the scientifically confirmed benefits of St. John Wort and Echinaceaa,b.
37 (20)
73 (40)
73 (40)
Explaining the role of food constituents in healthb.
32 (18)
81 (44)
70 (38)
Positively associated with students’ self-perceived quality of nutrition education received during their medical degree (). bPositively associated with students’ self-perceived quantity of nutrition education received during their medical degree ().
