Knowledge, attitude and practice of Lebanese primary care physicians in nutrition counseling: a self-reported survey

Abstract

Aim This study aims to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of primary care physicians (PCPs) in Lebanon regarding nutrition counseling and to investigate possible related barriers. Background Nutrition counseling is an important aspect of patient care, especially with the increase in nutrition-related disorders. Methods This is a descriptive study among a convenience sample of PCPs in Lebanon at two annual conferences in 2014 using an anonymous questionnaire. Findings Response rate was 54.6%. Overall, physicians considered that they have good to very good nutritional knowledge. Although they rated their formal nutritional education poorly, they had a positive attitude towards nutritional counseling and reported practicing general nutritional counseling with their patients. Barriers to nutritional counseling were: time, perceived poor patient adherence to diet, gap in physician's nutritional knowledge and lack of insurance coverage for dietitian fees. Changes should be made to medical education curricula to include nutrition courses related to prevalent health problems.