Physicians′ nutritional counselling practices: A study in district hospitals of Chhattisgarh

Abstract

Introduction: Nutrition counseling is an important tool for fostering healthy nutrition behavior among individuals. Physicians play a strategic role in imparting nutrition advice to their patient during daily encounters in healthcare settings. Present study explored nutritional counseling practices and attitudes of physicians working at district hospitals in Chhattisgarh state in India. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to explore present scenario of nutritional counseling practices by Physicians from 1 st April to 30 th June 2011. Questionnaires and observation guides were framed based on previous studies. Both 3-point and 5-point Likert scale were used to explore the knowledge, satisfaction, and attitude related statements. Results: Majority of the respondents (76%) were strongly in favor of training in nutrition counseling and 35% believed that they should spend more time exploring dietary habit of patients in routine practice. Fifty-four percent of practitioners were of the opinion that counseling is futile and 62% considered counseling as time-consuming process. Majority of physician expressed their willingness to undergo additional training in nutrition. Discussion: In view of emerging burden of chronic disease related to nutrition and life style, it is imperative that physician should be trained adequately so as to advice their patients appropriately, pertaining to nutrition.