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