Is there enough behaviour change science in nutrition and dietetics curricula in Australia and New Zealand? A descriptive study

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Rigby, Roshan R
Williams, Lauren T
Ball, Lauren
Hamilton, Kyra
Mitchell, Lana
Griffith University Author(s)
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2021
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AIM: The application of behaviour change science is fundamental to the role of dietitians. This study aimed to describe how behaviour change science is embedded within the curricula of accredited/registered dietetics programs in Australia and New Zealand. METHODS: A descriptive study triangulated quantitative document analysis of curricula content from university websites (Part 1) with qualitative, structured interviews with dietetics academics (Part 2). Part 2 verified and advanced upon information captured in Part 1 and was analysed using thematic content analysis. RESULTS: Twenty-five courses from 18 university programs (15 Australia and 3 New Zealand) were synthesised. Fifteen interviews (12 Australia, 3 New Zealand) were conducted. Behaviour change science was taught and assessed at varying levels across all programs. It was taught primarily within lectures or workshops where students apply skills learnt in practical case-based activities, and assessed through small group education planning or demonstrating communication and counselling skills. Five themes were identified from the interviews: (1) behaviour change science should be foundational; (2) integrate and scaffold within curricula; (3) structural limitations within curricula; (4) challenging for students and (5) recommendations for competencies. CONCLUSION: Behaviour change science is clearly of value to the dietetics profession. Core content appears to be embedded across all university programs; however, the level and depth of the content varied. The knowledge gained from this study provides direction for curricular improvements.

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Nutrition and Dietetics

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© 2021 The Authors. Nutrition & Dietetics published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Dietitians Australia. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in anymedium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.

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Nutrition and dietetics

Public health

behaviour change

curricula

curriculum

dietetics

qualitative research

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Rigby, RR; Williams, LT; Ball, L; Hamilton, K; Mitchell, L, Is there enough behaviour change science in nutrition and dietetics curricula in Australia and New Zealand? A descriptive study, Nutrition & Diabetes, 2021

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