Public perception of the nutritionist and the dietitian.

Abstract

Nutrition is the study of how the body nourishes itself in health and disease, and dietetics is the practical application of nutrition in health and disease. Both dietitians and registered nutritionists undergo rigorous university training focusing on nutrition science. The objectives of this project were to investigate overall public perception of, and satisfaction with the Nutritionist and Dietitian considering their specific role, and levels of perceived patient choice in treatment as a key priority for the indicators of service improvement. A questionnaire was developed both in English and Maltese: the first part to collect demographic data and the second part dealing with attitudinal and behavioural questions. It was psychometrically evaluated and sent to a sample of the Maltese population (n=384) with a stamped self-addressed envelope and follow-up for non-respondents was undertaken by telephone contact. Personal interviews were also carried out to retrieve certain missing links in the data collected. The participants' satisfaction and the perception levels were the mam outcome measures. Eighteen percent (n=69; N=384) of the Maltese population returned the answered questionnaire by post. The remainder were contacted by telephone interviews and 1 00% response was achieved.

Out of the 384 respondents, 191 were females and 193 males. The participants' age mode was 33 years, while the average age was 39 years and the range was 18-65 years. Only fourteen of the 384 participants had visited a nutritionist hut not a dietitian. Following this outcome 6 clients were interviewed at a dietitian. The average score obtained with regards the perception of the nutritionists' characteristics was 9.29 out of 60 and for the dietitian 10.5 out of 60 (the lower the score the greater the perception). Even though 100% of the respondents agreed that both the nutritionist and the dietitian play a vital role in the community and hospital setting, the majority of the participants (n=285; N=390) seek nutritional advice by surfing the world wide web. The study's findings identified what is lacking and established the significance of the Dietitian and Nutritionist in the different localities of the Maltese islands, as after all it is the public that keeps a profession going.