METHODS: This cross-sectional study employed a telephone survey administered to a subset of all medical doctors (MDs) working in the healthcare system clinics of USFQ between 2021 and 2022. Study participants were recruited through voluntary response sample from a complete list of 253 MD. The single time questionnaire consisted of a 22-item validated survey in which attitudes, self-perceived capacity, and knowledge about nutrition ofmedical doctors were evaluated. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, two-sided t test, bivariate associations and linear and logistic regressions.
RESULTS: 136 MDs completed the survey yielding a response rate of 54%. Our analysis grouped participants into clinical (CE) and non-clinical specialties, hereafter referred to as surgical MDs. While a higher percentage of physicians in CE are confident in their ability to provide examples of recommended food portions based on national or international guidelines, 1 in 10 do not know how to use and interpret BMI or waist circumference, and around 1 in 3 do not know how many calories there are in one gram of fat, protein, or carbohydrates, and their basic metabolic functions. Almost all survey participants believe MDs can have an impact on the eating behavior of a patient if time is used to discuss the problem, however, almost half of survey participants believe nutrition counseling is not an effective use of time.
CONCLUSIONS: It is important to explore the perceptions and self-confidence of physicians around nutrition related issues. Our results demonstrated that nearly 1 in 4 surgical MDs do not feel capable of recognizing nutritional risk in patients, which highlights the essentiality of physicians having an updated understanding of basic nutrition principles. Future research should examine how commonly MDs refer patients to nutritionists/dietitians, as well as strategies for improving physician knowledge on basic nutrition concepts.
方法:这项横断面研究采用了一项电话调查,该调查对2021年至2022年间在USFQ医疗系统诊所工作的所有医生(MD)的一部分进行了调查。通过来自253名MD的完整列表的自愿响应样本招募研究参与者。一次性问卷包括一项22项经过验证的调查,其中态度,自我感知能力,对医生的营养知识进行了评估。数据采用描述性统计分析,双侧t检验,双变量关联以及线性和逻辑回归。
结果:136名医学博士完成了调查,应答率为54%。我们的分析将参与者分为临床(CE)和非临床专科,以下称为手术MD。虽然较高比例的CE医生对他们能够根据国家或国际指南提供推荐食物部分的例子充满信心,1/10不知道如何使用和解释BMI或腰围,大约三分之一的人不知道一克脂肪中有多少卡路里,蛋白质,或者碳水化合物,以及它们的基本代谢功能。几乎所有调查参与者都认为,如果用时间来讨论问题,MD会对患者的饮食行为产生影响,然而,几乎一半的调查参与者认为营养咨询不是有效利用时间.
结论:探索医生对营养相关问题的看法和自信心非常重要。我们的研究结果表明,近四分之一的手术MD感觉无法识别患者的营养风险,这突出了医生对基本营养原则有最新理解的重要性。未来的研究应该检查MD如何将患者转介给营养学家/营养师,以及提高医生对基本营养概念知识的策略。