Hydration: Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of UK Dietitians

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Author(s)
Douglas, Pauline
Ball, Lauren
McGuffin, Lynn
Laur, Celia
Crowley, Jennifer
Rajput-Ray, Minha
Gandy, Joan
Ray, Sumantra
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2015
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Aim. The aim of this study was to investigate dietitians’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) regarding hydration and patient care. Methods. A cross-sectional online survey was administered to UK dietitians via the British Dietetic Association monthly newsletter and included 18 items on hydration knowledge (), attitudes (), and practices (). KAP scores were calculated by adding the total number of correct knowledge responses and by ranking attitude and practice responses on a Likert scale. Results. 97 dietitians completed the online survey and displayed varying levels of KAP regarding hydration and patient care. The ...
View more >Aim. The aim of this study was to investigate dietitians’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) regarding hydration and patient care. Methods. A cross-sectional online survey was administered to UK dietitians via the British Dietetic Association monthly newsletter and included 18 items on hydration knowledge (), attitudes (), and practices (). KAP scores were calculated by adding the total number of correct knowledge responses and by ranking attitude and practice responses on a Likert scale. Results. 97 dietitians completed the online survey and displayed varying levels of KAP regarding hydration and patient care. The mean unweighted scores were knowledge 5.0 (±1.3) out of 8; attitude 13.9 (±1.3) out of 16; practice 14.9 (±2.6) out of 24. Dietitians appeared to be guided by clinical reasoning and priorities for nutrition care. Conclusions. There may be scope to further assess and potentially enhance the KAP of dietitians regarding hydration and patient care. Innovative approaches to hydration promotion are warranted and may include focusing on dietitians’ personal hydration status, increasing communication with other healthcare professionals, and partnering with patients to take a proactive role in hydration monitoring.
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View more >Aim. The aim of this study was to investigate dietitians’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) regarding hydration and patient care. Methods. A cross-sectional online survey was administered to UK dietitians via the British Dietetic Association monthly newsletter and included 18 items on hydration knowledge (), attitudes (), and practices (). KAP scores were calculated by adding the total number of correct knowledge responses and by ranking attitude and practice responses on a Likert scale. Results. 97 dietitians completed the online survey and displayed varying levels of KAP regarding hydration and patient care. The mean unweighted scores were knowledge 5.0 (±1.3) out of 8; attitude 13.9 (±1.3) out of 16; practice 14.9 (±2.6) out of 24. Dietitians appeared to be guided by clinical reasoning and priorities for nutrition care. Conclusions. There may be scope to further assess and potentially enhance the KAP of dietitians regarding hydration and patient care. Innovative approaches to hydration promotion are warranted and may include focusing on dietitians’ personal hydration status, increasing communication with other healthcare professionals, and partnering with patients to take a proactive role in hydration monitoring.
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Journal Title
Journal of Biomedical Education
Volume
2015
Copyright Statement
© 2015 Pauline Douglas et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Subject
Public Nutrition Intervention