research proposal on nutrition and dietetics

Login to your account

If you don't remember your password, you can reset it by entering your email address and clicking the Reset Password button. You will then receive an email that contains a secure link for resetting your password

If the address matches a valid account an email will be sent to __email__ with instructions for resetting your password

Property	Value
Status
Version
Ad File
Disable Ads Flag
Environment
Moat Init
Moat Ready
Contextual Ready
Contextual URL
Contextual Initial Segments
Contextual Used Segments
AdUnit
SubAdUnit
Custom Targeting
Ad Events
Invalid Ad Sizes

Submit Member Login

Access provided by

Research: Successful Approaches in Nutrition and Dietetics

Download started

Add to Mendeley

Get full text access

Article metrics

Society Member Access

SNEB Members, full access to the journal is a member benefit. Login via the SNEB Website to access all journal content and features.

Institutional Access: Log in to ScienceDirect
Existing Subscriber: Log in
New Subscriber: Claim access with activation code. New subscribers select Claim to enter your activation code.

Academic & Personal

Corporate r&d professionals.

Full online access to your subscription and archive of back issues
Table of Contents alerts
Access to all multimedia content, e.g. podcasts, videos, slides

Extra CSS for Foundation in the Code

Research overview.

By making research resources and funding available for Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and its members, the Foundation stimulates innovation and discovery within the dietetics field. Foundation funded research serves to elevate the public’s perception of the registered dietitian nutritionist, continuing to position the Academy and credentialed practitioners as the nutrition experts. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation understands the value of research conducted by registered dietitian nutritionists and the importance of donors who help to advance profession with this research.

In addition to the individual research grants our Foundation awards to Academy members, our Foundation collaborates with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Research, International, and Scientific Affairs (RISA) team to secure valuable funding that supports essential research projects being conducted by the RISA team on behalf of our profession. In addition to many of the research project descriptions below, RISA updates on a number of these ongoing projects can be here .

Overview of Foundation-Funded RISA Research Projects

Effective August 18th, 2023, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation will not permit more than 15% of a total contract budget to be used for facility and administrative (F&A/indirect) costs. This pertains to all contracts regardless of organizational type. Please contact Paul Mifsud, Chief Financial Officer for any questions regarding this policy.

Foundation Fellowships

The Foundation has invested more than $2.3 million in our 33 fellows as well as over $5.3 million in their related projects over the last 12 years. The fellowship program deploys dynamic registered dietitian nutritionists in the US and globally to address the greatest food and nutrition challenges throughout the world. Fellows conduct research and provide nutrition education that improves and sustains nutritional health locally and globally, including robust dissemination activities.

The Foundation’s successful fellowship model is currently being scaled to:

Accelerate improvements in the health of the public, including prevention and well-being, health care and health systems, and food and nutrition safety and security
Create unique educational opportunities for credentialed and future practitioners at all levels
Expand practitioner expertise, including leadership skills
Demonstrate the value of credentialed practitioners and nutrition interventions in a variety of settings and areas of practice, both in the U.S. and globally

To view current and past Foundation fellows and open fellowship opportunities, please visit our Fellowship page .

Access fellowship outputs and resources:

Food as Medicine
Future of Food
Accelerating Food Security
Food Security Solutions Toolkit

Second Century Member Campaign Research Projects and Events

In honor of its 100-year anniversary in 2016, the Academy and the Foundation underwent a comprehensive and intensive strategic planning process to chart a new vision for the future, grounded in an extraordinary commitment to collaboration, a focus on service and an emphasis on accelerating the progress towards solving the greatest food and nutrition challenges of the 21st century.

Dollars raised through the Foundation’s Second Century Member Campaign fund people and solutions in the areas of prevention and well-being, health care and health systems, and food and nutrition safety and security. Projects empower RDNs to solve the greatest food and nutrition challenges now and in the future. Two of the many projects are listed below.

Transitions of Care Technical Implementation Guide

The Academy participates in IT standards development by collaborating with organizations such as Health Level Seven International. One of these IT standards is the Transitions of Care Technical Implementation Guide. The purpose of this initiative is to create a technical guidance manual for health IT vendors who develop electronic health records, ensuring a standardized approach when Nutrition Care Process data is exchanged across care settings.

Several technical implementation guides already exist for EHR vendors, but this is the first guide specific to nutrition. Use of this guide by vendors promotes interoperability of electronic records across care settings and allows reliable sharing of patient data for successful transition of care, quality measurement, public health reporting, research and reimbursement. Nutrition data documented in the appropriate way sets the stage for continued data use, improving quality of care, patient safety and cost savings.

Participant Briefing Paper

Second Century Member Campaign Research Project Spotlight: AAIM – Academy and ASPEN Indicators to Diagnose Malnutrition Study

The AAIM – Academy and ASPEN Indicators to Diagnose Malnutrition Study is a landmark research project taking place in 120 pediatric and adult hospital sites in the U.S. The study aims to test the validity of the Malnutrition Clinical Characteristics diagnostic tool and to develop an RDN staffing model that optimizes nutrition care of hospitalized patients. Three Foundation Fellows have been instrumental to conducting this large multisite project with the Academy’s Nutrition Research Network.

This study will provide nutrition and health care professionals with a validated malnutrition diagnostic tool for use in hospitalized adult and pediatric populations. In addition, the staffing model will help clinical nutrition managers determine an optimal RDN-to-patient ratio that promotes improved patient outcomes. Together, these study products will benefit patients of all ages in acute care settings by improving quality of care and health outcomes. Study results will be disseminated to the nutrition community via webinars, DPG newsletters, social media, FNCE ® and other conferences and peer-reviewed publications.

This study was funded by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation, the Commission on Dietetic Registration, the Pediatric Nutrition Practice Group, the Clinical Nutrition Management Dietetic Practice Group, and the Renal Dietitians Practice Group. Seca provided in-kind staff support and equipment for the bioelectrical impedance portion of the study.

Evidence Analysis Center Research Projects

The EAC conducts systematic reviews, writes consensus papers and develops nutrition practice guidelines to assist RDNs and other health practitioners in providing evidence-based nutrition care. The EAC’s growing body of publications is housed online within the Academy’s Evidence Analysis Library. Foundation funded EAC projects included research in topics identified as gap areas where there was need to review the latest research and provide updated practice recommendations.

Adult Weight Management

The objective of this project is to review research on weight management interventions provided by a registered dietitian nutritionist or international equivalent in adults who are overweight or obese. It will result in a systematic review, as well as evidence-based practice guidelines for effective RDN-led weight management interventions for adult patients.

Funded by the Weight Management DPG

Celiac Disease

This project will result in a systematic review of studies examining nutrition assessment, interventions and measures to monitor gluten-free diet adherence and compliance in patients with celiac disease. A set of evidence-based practice guidelines for RDNs will be formulated from the review for use when working with patients with celiac disease.

Funded by the Dietitians in Medical Nutrition Therapy DPG

Energy Expenditure

The outcome of this project will be an update to the EAL’s 2014 Energy Expenditure Guidelines. The updated recommendations will provide health care practitioners with evidence-based guidance for measuring resting metabolic rate in healthy and noncritically ill individuals to promote positive outcomes.

Funded by Dietitians in Nutrition Support DPG

Nutritional Genomics/Personalized Nutrition

Completed in 2020, this project resulted in a systematic review on the effects of incorporating genetic information into nutrition care. A consensus report was developed based on the systematic review and was published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. These publications aim to inform practice for those utilizing genetic testing in nutrition care.

Funded by the Dietitians in Integrative and Functional Medicine DPG

Type 1 Diabetes In Children

This systematic review will explore the effectiveness of medical nutrition therapy and nutrition interventions on health outcomes in children and adolescents with Type 1 diabetes. Evidence-based practice recommendations will be developed from the systematic review to inform health practitioners of the most effective interventions for pediatric patients with Type 1 diabetes.

Funded by the Diabetes DPG

Malnutrition in Older Adults (Community and Long Term Care)

This project will result in two systematic reviews focused on assessment of malnutrition in older adults and effective interventions. Evidence-based practice recommendations will be derived from the systematic reviews for RDNs to use in the treatment and prevention of malnutrition for older adults living in the community or at their long-term residence.

Funded by the Dietetics in Healthcare Communities DPG

Vegetarian Nutrition

This project will update the Academy’s prior systematic review on vegetarian nutrition to support development of an evidence-based position or consensus paper. The objective of the systematic review is to determine the relationships between vegetarian dietary patterns and disease prevention and treatment related outcomes.

Funded by the Vegetarian Nutrition DPG

Collaboration to Advance our Profession

Join Becky Dorner, RDN, LD, FAND, 2021-2022 Foundation Chair, and Alison L. Steiber, PhD, RDN, Chief Science Officer of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics to learn how your Foundation donation supports nutrition and dietetics research and evidence. Becky and Dr. Steiber present an update on Foundation-funded research being conducted by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Research, International, and Scientific Affairs team.

RESTORE Study

The RESTORE Study is a multi-site longitudinal study designed to examine nutrition care practices that may influence the burden of disease in COVID-19 patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). The goal of the RESTORE study is to assist in the development of a pragmatic protocol of nutrition care practices for Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDNs) and other health professionals to utilize when caring for critically ill patients with COVID-19. The Academy Data Science Center (DSC) is collaborating with investigators at George Mason University (GMU) and Indiana University. This project is being conducted with funding from Nestle Health Sciences.

ANDHII Breast Feeding Registry Study

The Breast feeding Registry Study, conducted by the Academy’s Data Science Center, aims to better understand the documentation of RDNs who provide breast feeding and lactation support to infants and their mothers. The study is investigating nutrition outcomes and predictors of nutrition problem resolution in this population. RDNs at six to 12 collaborating sites will be recruited and trained to collect registry data using the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Health Informatics Infrastructure.

ANDHII enables RDNs to track nutrition care outcomes in their practice setting. The knowledge gained through the collection and analysis of information in ANDHII adds to the evidence base for nutrition practice and helps ensure high-quality patient care. Currently, almost no data exists in ANDHII related to mothers who are breast feeding or infants who are breast fed. This research will begin to fill that gap. It will help us understand the current documentation practices of RDNs in this specialty, as well as the resulting outcomes from receiving nutrition care such as infant weight and breast feeding duration.

Funded by the Pediatric Nutrition DPG and the Women’s Health DPG

AUGmeNT Study: Assessing Uptake and Impact Of Guidelines For Clinical Practice In Renal Nutrition

This study aims to evaluate RDN fidelity to the EAC’s Chronic Kidney Disease Guideline at 20-40 outpatient renal dialysis centers. It will test the effectiveness of an implementation toolkit created to support implementation of CKD Guideline recommendations by RDNs. It will also examine the feasibility of estimating the impact of the CKD Guideline on nutrition related outcomes. Data from this study will help us better understand the adaptation, adoption and acceptability of the CKD Guideline by RDNs working in dialysis centers, which may inform future iterations of the guideline. Results of this study will be disseminated via webinars, DPG newsletters, FNCE® and other conferences and peer-reviewed publications.

Through design of the AUGmeNt study, the Academy’s Nutrition Research Network has developed a model that can be replicated to evaluate the implementation and impact of other evidence-based nutrition guidelines.

Funded by the Renal DPG and Relypsa, a Vifor Pharma Group Company

The State of Food and Nutrition Series

The purpose of this multiphase initiative is to demonstrate the value of RDN-led nutrition interventions addressing three high-priority non-communicable diseases – Type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease and hypertension – all of which are prevalent issues in the U.S. and globally. Poor nutritional status contributes to onset and progression of these diseases and appropriate medical nutrition therapy can prevent or delay their progression. However, many people with these conditions do not have access to an RDN and do not receive appropriate nutrition care.

Through an expert forum, building of a research strategy and prospective data collection and analysis, this project will build on the evidence to support increased access to and reimbursement for nutrition care delivered by RDNs treating these conditions. Broader access to the RDN expertise will ultimately have a positive impact on health outcomes for individuals with these diseases.

Supported by Abbott Nutrition, the Commission on Dietetic Registration, Georgetown University, Diabetes Dietetic Practice Group, National Kidney Foundation, Nutricia Advanced Medical Nutrition, Relypsa, a Vifor Pharma Group Company, Renal Dietetic Practice Group and Weight Management Dietetic Practice Group

Annual Research Fund

The Foundation is expanding research efforts to make dollars available on an annual basis to fund research being conducted by the Academy and its members. These dollars will allow the Foundation to quickly respond to the ever-changing research needs of the profession. Since all dollars to this annual research fund will be made available for immediate disbursement, the Foundation believes this will allow for an even greater impact by providing consumers with the most relevant and accurate food and nutrition information and bringing more registered dietitians to the forefront.

Research Endowment

To support research in the dietetics profession, the Foundation established the Foundation Food and Nutrition Research Endowment in 2001. Interest generated from the endowment funds member-conducted research on top issues identified by the Academy and the Foundation.

Named Research Funds

The Foundation has several named funds which support research. Each grant has specific criteria governing its use and a separate review committee.

Quick Links

Apply for Awards
Apply for Scholarships
Apply for Grants
Apply for Fellowships
Apply for Disaster Relief

Sign Up for the Foundation's Newsletter Contact the Foundation to subscribe to the weekly Kids Eat Right Foundation Newsletter

Community Tags

Nutrition Research Topics for College Students

The following are some of the best nutrition research paper topics for college students who want to learn more about the themes that directly affect them. In case you need assistance with writing any of the following topics, you can order custom research papers and receive authentic, plagiarism-free content written by nutrition experts.

Stress eating a growing problem among college students
The cause and effects of Freshman 15
How healthy foods can help deal with mental health issues
Sleep and nutrition –how they relate to each other
How healthy eating impacts a college athlete’s performance
Is breakfast the most important meal of the day?
Why women are more likely to suffer from anemia
Preventing/curing hangovers with smarter food choices
The impact of social media on students’ dietary choices
What are superfoods, and can they be beneficial?
The rising popularity of the paleo diet
What makes fast food so addictive?
Most common eating disorders among college students
Diet and mood – how they’re intertwined
Can healthy foods improve cognition and brain power?

Interesting Nutrition Topics for Research Paper

If you’d prefer a bit more exciting topic that encourages debate and gets your readers immersed, take a look at the following nutrition research paper topic suggestions.

Overcoming unhealthy emotional relationship with food
The intricate relationship between smoking and weight
How sleep moderates ghrelin and leptin levels
Cannabinoids as nutritional supplements
Prevalence of diabetes among college students
How helpful are gummy vitamins?
Genetic predispositions for becoming obese
How parents’ eating habits impact children’s dietary choices
Preventing eating disorders in teens and young adults
How the body positivity movement can be harmful to young adults
In-depth review of US school lunches – what needs to change?
Preventing chronic diseases with better food choices
Is overhydration more dangerous than dehydration?
The impact of social media on women’s body image
Hormones and nutrition – how are they connected?
Community health initiatives and their impact on nutrition

Research Topics in Nutrition and Dietetics

Analyzing diets and their impact on our health and fitness is always intriguing. Learn more about nutrition and dietetics with some of the following nutrition research topics:

Keto diet and risk considerations
Dietary changes during the COVID-19 pandemic
Nutrition vs. physical activity for healthy weight management
Methods for improving physical fitness while limiting calorie intake
In-depth analysis of yo-yo dieting
How going vegan impacts health
Dietary fats – the good and the bad
The dark side of the juice cleanse
The role of proteins in weight loss
How popular diet trends affect your health
Is intermittent fasting a good way to lose weight?
In-depth analysis of compulsive eating disorder Pica
Harmful trends that promote eating disorders
How to ensure proper nutrient intake on a plant-based diet
Are vegan foods always healthier?
Staple food: its role in global nutrition and dietary guidelines

Sports Nutrition Topics for Research

Student-athletes always want to know more about how food and nutrition impact their performance. The following topics can be just as useful to them as they are to med students.

Prevalence of eating disorders among female athletes
How plant-based diets impact athletes’ performance
How much protein you need for optimal muscle development
The role of BCAA’s in weightlifting performance among seniors
Is when you eat just as important as what you eat?
The impact of food choices on muscle recovery
Maintaining electrolyte balance during endurance training
The role of creatine in improving athletic performance
How to safely cut weight ahead of a competition
Effects of dietary fibers on carbohydrate uptake and absorption
What athletes need to know about BMI
Most effective supplements for bone and tendon health in combat athletes
How caffeine impacts athletic performance
In-depth analysis of Peri-Workout nutrition for strength athletes
Examining the effects of low-carb diet trends on athletic performance
Nutritional contributions to bone health and prevention of osteoporosis

Nutritional Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic

The role of diet in modulating immune response during COVID-19
Impact of nutritional status on COVID-19 outcomes
Dietary interventions to reduce COVID-19-related inflammation
Changes in physical activity levels due to pandemic restrictions
Nutritional strategies to support at-home workouts
Psychological impact of reduced sports activities and nutritional adjustments
Disruptions in food supply chains during the pandemic
Adaptations in dietary habits due to food shortages and lockdowns
Long-term implications of pandemic-induced dietary changes on health
Vitamin D deficiency: causes, effects, and solutions

Advances in Food Technology and Biotechnology

Cellular Agriculture: Biotechnology for Sustainable Food
Innovations in lab-grown meat production
Environmental benefits of cellular agriculture
Consumer perceptions and acceptance of cultured meat products
Application of Nanotechnology in Food Science
Enhancements in food safety and quality through nanotechnology
Nanoparticles in food packaging for extended shelf life
Potential health risks and regulatory challenges of nanotechnology in food
Sustainable Food Production Through Biotechnology
Genetic modifications for improved crop yield and nutrition
Biotechnological approaches to reduce food waste
Role of biotechnology in addressing global food security
Healthier alternatives to common high-calorie foods

Emerging Topics in Nutrition and Health

Potential benefits of cannabinoids in managing chronic diseases
Use of cannabinoids as nutritional supplements
Regulatory and safety considerations in cannabinoid use
Benefits of human milk for preterm infants
Challenges in breastfeeding preterm babies
Strategies to enhance the nutritional quality of human milk
Dietary approaches to promote muscle health across the lifespan
Role of proteins and supplements in muscle maintenance
Impact of nutrition on muscle recovery and performance
Food addiction: understanding and addressing the issue
The Mediterranean diet: benefits and implementation

Innovations in Food and Dietary Patterns

Technological advancements in cultured meat production
Economic and ethical considerations
Consumer acceptance and market potential
Health benefits of a predominantly plant-based diet with occasional meat
Environmental impacts of flexitarian dietary patterns
Strategies to promote flexitarianism among different populations
Interactions between diet, gut microbiota, and health
Personalized nutrition plans based on gut microbiome analysis
Future prospects for microbiome-targeted dietary interventions
The ketogenic diet: benefits, risks, and long-term effects

Climate Change and Nutrition Research Topics

Impact of climate change on global food security
Sustainable agricultural practices to combat climate change
Policy frameworks for climate-resilient food systems
Promoting plant-based diets for environmental sustainability
Reducing food waste through dietary changes
Integrating nutrition and sustainability goals in public health policies
Effects of thermal processing on nutrient retention
Innovations in food processing to enhance nutritional value
Consumer education on processed food and health
The rise of organic food: benefits and challenges

Readers also enjoyed

WHY WAIT? PLACE AN ORDER RIGHT NOW!

Just fill out the form, press the button, and have no worries!

We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy.

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Publications
Account settings
My Bibliography
Collections
Citation manager

Save citation to file

Email citation, add to collections.

Create a new collection
Add to an existing collection

Add to My Bibliography

Your saved search, create a file for external citation management software, your rss feed.

Search in PubMed
Search in NLM Catalog
Add to Search

Research methods in nutrition and dietetics: design, data analysis, and presentation

Affiliation.

1 University of Washington, Seattle 98195.
PMID: 3047199

Most problems in practice may be addressed through research. To show the applicability of research to all areas of nutrition and dietetics, seven types of research designs are discussed in this article: qualitative research; case series and surveys--both categorized as descriptive research; and experimental design, quasiexperimental design, cohort (follow-up) studies, and case-control studies--the four of which are categorized as analytical research because each design tests hypotheses of causal relationships. Sample size, subject selection, and statistical analysis and interpretation are discussed as appropriate to each research design. Numerous examples are presented, along with the basic research designs. Each section and subsection is numbered so that the article can serve easily as a reference and its component parts can be accessed readily. Research provides answers to questions and, generally, raises further questions that future research can address. Among the benefits of well-designed research are answers to clearly stated research questions, useful comparisons between options, information to guide evaluations of protocols, and data to document and support one's professional activities and one's staff.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types

Search in MeSH

Grants and funding

CA18029/CA/NCI NIH HHS/United States
CA38552/CA/NCI NIH HHS/United States

LinkOut - more resources

MedlinePlus Health Information
Citation Manager

NCBI Literature Resources

MeSH PMC Bookshelf Disclaimer

The PubMed wordmark and PubMed logo are registered trademarks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Unauthorized use of these marks is strictly prohibited.

Search NYU Steinhardt

Doctor of Philosophy Nutrition and Dietetics

In the Nutrition and Dietetics doctoral degree, you will choose a specialized area of study and build upon foundational courses in dietetics and research methods before proposing, writing, and defending a unique dissertation.

Nutrition PhD candidates Rachel Ryan and Miriam Mahmood with Assistant Professor of Clinical Nutrition Jessica Bihuniak.

Degree Details

Official degree title.

PhD in Nutrition and Dietetics

Research Topics

Careers and outcomes, doctoral expectations.

A core component of completing the doctoral degree in Nutrition and Dietetics is writing and defending a dissertation on a relevant research topic of your choosing. You will work closely with faculty mentor(s) throughout the dissertation process to structure and advance the project.

Previous graduates have selected a range of topics to explore in their dissertations, including individuals’ cooking beliefs, students’ eating behaviors, and the relationship between nutrition and various food environments.

Learn more about the process for completing this degree and view the full curriculum .

The doctoral degree in Nutrition and Dietetics offers an interdisciplinary course of study that prepares you for advanced teaching, research, administrative, and leadership positions in academic, public health, government, or other industry institutions.

Departmental participation including Fall and Spring doctoral seminar

Engagement in research project development

Teaching experience and curriculum development

Candidacy examination and research proposal in the second year

Work with a primary mentor

Research Spotlight

Recent PhD in Nutrition and Dietetics graduate Dr. Miriam Mahmood investigated the feasibility and outcomes of an internet-based, culinary behavioral weight loss program for NYU undergrads.

Explore the Research

Funding for Full-Time PhD Students

We offer our full-time doctoral students a competitive funding program that includes tuition and living expenses and includes teaching opportunities, and faculty mentoring. All doctoral applicants regardless of citizenship will be considered for scholarships, assistantships, and fellowships. US students should complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by March 1 to also be considered for student loans. For more information about financial aid see the Steinhardt Financial Aid website and the NYU Financial Aid website .

If you have any additional questions about our degree, please feel free to contact Dr. Kristie Lancaster at [email protected] .

Nutrition and Food Studies

411 Lafayette Street, 5th Floor New York, NY 10003 Phone: 212-998-5580 Email: [email protected]

Follow Our Department!

Take the next step.

Advance your personal and professional journey – apply to join our community of students.

Nutrition and Dietetics
Nutrition Research

Nutrition research to affect food and a healthy lifespan

September 2013
Advances in Nutrition 4(5):579-84
4(5):579-84
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

American Society for Nutrition
This person is not on ResearchGate, or hasn't claimed this research yet.

Baylor College of Medicine

Indiana University Bloomington

Discover the world's research

25+ million members
160+ million publication pages
2.3+ billion citations

Chandrajeet Singh
Mehandra Bishnoi
Kondepundi Kanthi K

Singh Patel

I. N. Napolsky

Hassan Abdullahi Yusuf

Paras Paras
Meghavarsha Rajen Lakra
Shubhangi Malavade

Micah Hamady
Jeffrey I. Gordon

Robert M. Russell

Emily Konopka
NEW ENGL J MED

Robert A Waterland

Eleonora Laritsky
Andrew M Prentice
J Miss State Med Assoc
Jerome R Kolbo

Nichole Werle

Michael J. Steiner

Elsie M Taveras
Matthew W Gillman
Mary K Serdula
Ralph J Coates
ARCH INTERN MED

Patricia Salen

Nicolle Mamelle
Recruit researchers
Join for free
Login Email Tip: Most researchers use their institutional email address as their ResearchGate login Password Forgot password? Keep me logged in Log in or Continue with Google Welcome back! Please log in. Email · Hint Tip: Most researchers use their institutional email address as their ResearchGate login Password Forgot password? Keep me logged in Log in or Continue with Google No account? Sign up

Research article
Open access
Published: 27 January 2021

Stakeholders’ perceptions of the nutrition and dietetics needs and the requisite professional competencies in Uganda: a cross-sectional mixed methods study

Peterson Kato Kikomeko ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0128-0564 1 , 2 ,
Sophie Ochola 1 ,
Archileo N. Kaaya 3 ,
Irene Ogada 1 , 4 ,
Tracy Lukiya Birungi 5 &
Peace Nakitto 6 , 7

BMC Health Services Research volume 21 , Article number: 92 ( 2021 ) Cite this article

4190 Accesses

2 Citations

1 Altmetric

Metrics details

Effective implementation of nutrition and dietetics interventions necessitates professionals in these fields to possess the requisite competencies for health systems performance. This study explored the stakeholders’ perceptions of the community nutrition and dietetics needs, the nature of work done by graduates of the Bachelor’s degree in Human Nutrition/Human Nutrition and Dietetics (HN/HND), and the competencies required of Nutrition and Dietetics professionals in Uganda.

A cross-sectional mixed methods design was used. Respondents included 132 graduates of the Bachelor’s degrees in HN/HND obtained from the Makerere and Kyambogo Universities in 2005–2016; 14 academic staff that train HN/HND in the two universities; and 11 HN/HND work/internship supervisors. Data from the graduates was collected through an email-based survey; data from other participants was through face to face interviews using researcher administered questionnaires.

Most HN/HND respondents (84.8%) obtained their Bachelor’s degrees from Kyambogo University; 61.4% graduated in 2013–2016. Most (64.3%) academic staff respondents were females and the majority (57.1%) had doctorate training. All stakeholders viewed communities as facing a variety of nutrition and dietetics challenges cutting across different Sustainable Development Goals. The nutrition and dietetics interventions requested for, provided, and considered a priority for communities were both nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive. Work done by HN/HND graduates encompassed seven main competency domains; the dominant being organizational leadership and management; management of nutrition-related disease conditions; nutrition and health promotion; research; and advocacy, communication, and awareness creation.

Conclusions

This study shows that nutrition and dietetics challenges in Uganda are multiple and multifaceted; HN/HND graduates are employed in different sectors, provide nutrition-specific and sensitive services in a multisectoral environment, and are expected to possess a variety of knowledge and skills. However, graduates have knowledge and skills gaps in some of the areas they are expected to exhibit competency. We recommend using these findings as a basis for obtaining stakeholder consensus on the key competencies that should be exhibited by all HN/HND graduates in Uganda; developing a HN/HND competency-based education model and a national HN/HND training and practice standard; and undertaking further research to understand the quality and relevancy of HN/HND curricula to Uganda’s job market requirements.

Peer Review reports

Malnutrition in its different forms: undernutrition; micronutrient deficiencies; and overweight, obesity, and the associated diet-related non-communicable disease remains a key global health challenge [ 1 , 2 ] partly due to the multifaceted nature of its causes and the related effects. Despite the widespread recognition that nutrition drives economic growth, social change, and human development [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ], the United Nations indicated a rise in the number and proportion of undernourished people globally from 777 million (10.6%) in 2015 to 815 million (11.0%) in 2016 [ 7 ]. Recent estimates indicate the prevalence of undernourishment to have risen to 22.8% in Sub-Saharan Africa [ 8 ] and stunting, in particular, has been identified as one of the key barriers preventing African children from attaining their full growth potential [ 3 ]. The limited progress in addressing nutrition at the global, continental, and national levels may slow progress towards the attainment of nutrition targets as set in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition, and the 2025 Global nutrition targets [ 6 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]. Nutrition interventions have been differentiated into nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive [ 11 ] and recommendations made that their implementation is undertaken at multiple levels from the topmost government to local; engage an interplay of multiple stakeholders under the leadership of Governments, with the support of other actors including the civil society, United Nations, academia, donors, and business; and multiple sectors including those from health, education, agriculture, gender, and other sectors [ 12 ]. Nevertheless, multisectoral collaborations remain underutilized in middle and low-income countries [ 13 ]. In Uganda, addressing malnutrition is high on the national health and social-economic development agenda [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ].

Nutrition and Dietetics professionals are a key human resource for the delivery of nutrition-related services [ 19 ]; and should thus possess the requisite competencies, i.e. the nutrition and dietetics knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform in the given national health systems settings. To equip health professionals with the requisite performance competencies necessary for meeting the health systems challenges of the twenty-first century, countries have been called upon to undertake reforms in their national education systems by adopting competency-based education (CBE) and inter-professional training and development [ 20 ]. “A competency-based approach is a disciplined approach to specify the health problems to be addressed, identify the requisite competencies required of graduates for health-system performance, tailor the curriculum to achieve competencies, and assess achievements and shortfalls” [ 20 ]. The mastery of professional competencies is important in fostering the impact and sustainability of individual careers [ 21 ]. DiMaria-Ghalili et al. [ 22 ] found it critical that the nutrition and dietetics health systems performance competencies needed by each type of health professional cadres are identified and evaluated. Palermo, Hughes, and Mccall [ 23 ] in particular, support the need to delineate and differentiate the competencies required for the practice of nutrition and dietetics. Presently, emerging consensus on the need to adopt CBE in health professionals training exists, although more in the developed than in developing countries [ 24 ]. In Africa, the Continental Education Strategy for Africa 2016–2025 is focussed on fostering competency-based learning [ 25 ].

The government of Uganda embraced the multisectoral approach for the delivery of nutrition interventions in 2011 upon the adoption of a National Nutrition Action Plan and has since called upon all concerned ministries to integrate nutrition in their sector policies and plans [ 14 , 15 ]. Some of the lessons learnt in regards to multisectoral nutrition policy integration in Uganda point to the need for “training nutritionists and seconding them to occupy strategic positions across sectors” [ 26 ]. It is thus vital that the Nutrition and Dietetics professions trained in Uganda get equipped with the requisite knowledge and skills for health systems performance-in a multisectoral context. To date, however, limited research has been undertaken to understand the knowledge and skills required of Nutrition and Dietetics professionals to operate in Uganda’s multisectoral nutrition implementation context. In our recently published paper, we realised that efforts to develop and adopt CBE in Uganda had mainly been demonstrated in medical training and consequently recommended the need to identify and evaluate the competencies required of Human Nutrition/Human Nutrition and Dietetics (HN/HND) Footnote 1 graduates as well as adopt CBE in the training of HN/HND in Uganda [ 19 ]. To achieve this, an understanding of the stakeholders’ perceptions is vital [ 27 ]. According to Gruppen, Mangrulkar, and Kolars [ 28 ], “needs assessments that reflect available health data, input from the community and the public health perspective” can provide valuable information based upon which stakeholder perceptions can be evaluated. Stakeholder evaluations regarding the adequacy of training received in relation to the requirements for practice can be undertaken through surveys that give responsive feedback from graduates, their trainers, and employers [ 28 ].

The purpose of this study was to explore the stakeholders’ perceptions of the community nutrition and dietetics needs, the nature of work done by HN/HND graduates, and the competencies required of Nutrition and Dietetics professionals in Uganda. The key questions answered by this study are: (1) What are the nutrition and dietetics related challenges facing different communities in Uganda?; (2) What nutrition and dietetic services are demanded by Ugandan communities?; (3) Which of the demanded nutrition and dietetic services are provided by the different agencies?; (4) What is the nature of work done by HN/HND graduates in Uganda?, (5) and What knowledge and skills are required of HN/HND professionals to perform effectively in Uganda’s varied healthy system’s settings?

Study design and setting

This study used a cross-sectional mixed methods design. The rationale for using this design was based on the need to triangulate data collection and analysis processes as well as obtain complementary data on the study objectives to strengthen the study conclusion [ 29 , 30 ]. The study population comprised graduates of the Bachelor’s degree in HN/HND obtained from the Makerere and Kyambogo Universities of Uganda in the years 2005–2016 Footnote 2 ; academic staff that train HN/HND in the two Universities; and HN/HND work/internship supervisors from selected regional referral hospitals and Non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Graduates and academic staff of Kyambogo and Makerere Universities were the only ones included because these were the only institutions that had graduated HN/HND professionals in the study reference period. Qualitative description techniques [ 31 ] were in particular applied in sampling and data collection. Using a qualitative descriptive approach allows for the collection of data directly from the persons believed to directly experience the matters under study [ 32 ]. Data from HN/HND graduates were collected through a cross-sectional email-based survey while that from the academic staff and HN/HND work/internship supervisors was undertaken through face-to-face interviews using a structured key informant interview guide.

Graduates who responded to the survey were not re-interviewed amongst the other categories of respondents. Data collection and analysis were done following an explanatory sequential design [ 29 , 30 ]; beginning with that from the HN/HND graduates and finally to that for the academic staff and work/internship supervisors. The major point of interface for the quantitative and qualitative methods was in data analysis. The whole process for designing the sampling framework, developing the email-based survey tool, and undertaking data collection from the graduates lasted from December 2017 to August 2018. Data collection from academic staff and work/internship supervisors was undertaken from February 2019 to May 2019 after a preliminary analysis of the data obtained from the HN/HND graduates. Data collection from the graduates took an unusually longer than expected period despite repeated reminders. This was partly attributed to the techniques used in data collection; poor internet connectivity; limited access to computers; length of the questionnaire and the types of study questions; and the general perception by some graduates that study questions were targeted to only the employed graduates. Also, most questions were open-ended and required an appreciable level of personal professional reflection before being answered. A results validation workshop was undertaken in October 2019 to further obtain study participants’ feedback and general insights on the study findings.

Participant selection

Graduates of the bachelor’s degree in hn/hnd.

A sampling frame for the graduates was developed from the graduation records of Kyambogo and Makerere University for the years 2005–2016. According to the available records, there were about 607 graduates for the reference period; 493 from Kyambogo University and 114 from Makerere University. The available email and phone contacts for the graduates were obtained from the respective university department records. Starting with these, other contacts were obtained by making phone calls to the known contacts, explaining to them the purpose of the research, the methods that were to be used for data collection and requesting them to provide the email and phone contacts of their fellow graduates. This process was repeated until no more contacts could be obtained; at which point 450 email and mobile phone contacts of the 607 graduates had been obtained. Given that the participants were widely geographically distributed and given the techniques that were to be used in reaching the participants, a decision was made to have an exhaustive sample of all the 450 graduates whose contacts had been established as the study sample and to invite all to participate in the study. The use of such a strategy is theoretically justifiable and meets the requirements for sampling when a study uses aspects of a qualitative descriptive approach in sampling [ 33 ] as was in this study.

To collect data from the participants, a Google email-based group account comprised of emails identified while developing the sampling frame was created. A cross-sectional email-based survey was then undertaken amongst all the 450 contacts by emailing participants a consent form (supplemental file 1 ), a structured questionnaire in a Microsoft word format (supplemental file 2 ), and a URL link to the web-based version of the questionnaire hosted in Google forms. The options allowed participants to either download the questionnaire sent as an attachment, work offline, and send it back to the researcher, or to directly fill the questionnaire online and submit filled. An acknowledgment receipt was sent for each received response. Email questionnaires were used given their cost-effectiveness in reaching a widely distributed population sample and ease of transmission. To improve response rate; several recommended strategies were undertaken including; providing respondents an extended time to respond, sending out repeated reminders, giving assurance that the responses were vital and would be used, giving assurance of anonymity of responses as these would be de-identified, and providing notification for receipt of responses [ 34 ].

Academic staffs that train HN/HND

Names of the full-time academic staff that train undergraduates of the Bachelor’s degree in HN/HND in Makerere and Kyambogo Universities were obtained from the concerned university departments. From the lists, the names of seven academic staff who responded to the HN/HND graduates study instrument were identified and excluded. The remaining list had 14 contacts; since the staffs teach different study units, a deliberate decision was undertaken to purposively reach all the 14 identified staff and request for their participation in the study. Data collection was done through face to face interviews using the researcher administered questionnaires (supplemental file 3 ) and responses concurrently written in a notebook during the interview. Audio recording was also done only for those participants who accepted to be recorded. The interviews were conducted by the principal researcher, in a convenient office at the interviewee’s workplace, on a date and time agreed upon before the actual interview and upon obtaining approved consent (supplemental file 5 ). On average, interviews lasted for 45 min to one hour.

HN/HND work/internship supervisors

The majority of the graduates that responded to the study indicated having undertaken part of their internship training from the national and regional referral hospitals and in several NGOs in different regions of the country. We purposively selected and undertook face to face interviews using researcher administered questionnaires (supplemental file 4 ) on 11 supervisors of HN/HND interns/employees. Seven of these were based in hospitals (one from the national referral hospital, and six from regional referral hospitals), while four worked in the NGO sector (one worked in a humanitarian agency that was employing most of the graduates that responded to the study, one worked in an HIV/AIDS research-based institution, one worked for an agency whose work was mainly in nutrition and livelihoods promotion, while the other was a director for an NGO mainly dealing in nutrition and health promotion). All interviews were undertaken by the principal researcher, in a convenient office at the interviewee’s workplace, on a date and time agreed upon and upon obtaining approved consent (supplemental file 5 ). Notes of participant explanations were taken in the course of the interview. Audio recording was also done only for those participants who accepted to be recorded. Interviews lasted for about 45 min to one hour on average.

Study instruments

In all cases, the questionnaires that were used comprised mainly of open-ended questions and captured aspects of respondents’ demographics; training and employment history of the HN/HND Bachelor’s degree graduates; and general stakeholder perceptions in regards to the nutrition and dietetic challenges faced by community members; nutrition and dietetic services demanded by communities, those provided, and those considered a priority; the knowledge and skills required of graduates of the Bachelor’s degree in HN/HND to competently perform in Uganda’s health system; knowledge and skills gaps amongst HN/HND professionals; the knowledge and skills inadequately attained during training; and stakeholder awareness of the nutrition and dietetics minimum training standards in Uganda.

All study instruments were developed by the principal researcher with support and input from the study supervisors; additional revisions were done based on comments received during the ethical review process. Pretesting of all study instruments was done to further ascertain the comprehension, relevancy of the questions, as well as the general applicability of the study instruments. A participatory pre-test [ 35 ] of both variants (Microsoft word and web-based versions) of the HN/HND study instrument was undertaken among two purposively selected HN/HND graduates; one from Kyambogo University and one from Makerere University. The suggestions received were used to improve the questions, ensure that the right options for question types were programmed in the web-based version of the questionnaire, and ascertaining the ease of use of the questionnaire when responding on a smartphone and a personal computer. Undeclared pre-tests [ 35 ] were then undertaken on each variant of the HN/HND study instrument using three purposively selected HN/HND graduates for each variant of the questionnaire but no major modifications were found necessary to be done on either variant of the questionnaire. The responses obtained from the undeclared pre-tests were jointly analysed with other graduate responses.

The study instrument for the academic staff was subjected to a participatory pre-test by three academic staff members that train HND in Kyambogo University and revised based on the comments received. Relatedly, participatory pretesting of the study instrument for the work/internship supervisors was also done by two purposely selected graduates, one working in the Humanitarian sector and another working in a hospital setting. The members engaged in the pretesting of study instruments for the academic staff and work/internship supervisors were not interviewed under the two respective categories having initially responded as former HN/HND graduates.

Researcher standpoint

The principal researcher wore different “hats” as a graduate of HND, a lecturer of nutrition and dietetics at Kyambogo University, and a graduate student undertaking doctoral research. He thus simultaneously adopted both the insider and outsider positions [ 36 ] while undertaking this research. Adopting both positions was invaluable in that it enabled the researcher to seek information in a field he had knowledge and experience in, could easily comprehend, as well as triangulate the data from different participant categories. By simultaneously adopting the insider and outsider positions, the researcher was also able to objectively guide the whole process of planning for the research, data collection, analysis, and reporting. Adopting different research positions as was in this study is reported to have a likelihood of discouraging participants from disclosing information [ 37 ]. This was however not vividly experienced in this study.

Data analysis

Responses from the HN/HND graduates were downloaded in the form of a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, reviewed, cleaned, and further explored inductively to identify and code emerging themes using the conventional content analysis technique. Further coding was done to create additional sub-themes from the main themes. The process of coding and the subsequent creation of themes and subthemes were stopped when no more of these could be generated from the data. The created themes and sub-themes were then quantitized [ 38 ] into dichotomous variables of 0 or 1 depending on whether the coded response was absent or present in the individual participants’ narratives [ 39 ]. Upon quantitizing, the data set was exported to the IBM Statistical Package for Social Scientists software version 20 for analysis. Descriptive statistics and multiple response analyses were conducted and results presented mainly in the form of percentage distributions. Despite the likely drawbacks in quantitizing qualitative data, this approach allowed for enumerating the percentage of respondents mentioning particular themes and subthemes [ 41 ] from the varied narrative responses.

For the qualitative data from the academic staff and HN/HND work/internship supervisors, interview responses were initially transcribed and cleaned in Microsoft Excel 2010. Upon cleaning, the datasets were exported to the NVivo 12 Plus software where further exploration, coding, and content analysis were done using the same themes as those identified from the HN/HND responses. The coding of the different data sets was done by the principal researcher with support from two study assistants.

Demographic, training, and occupational characteristics of the study respondents

Hn/hnd graduates.

The demographics, training, and occupation characteristics of HN/HND graduates who responded to the survey are summarised in Table 1 . Responses were received from 132 of the 450 invited participants; giving a general response rate of 29.3%. This response rate was higher than that usually obtained for online/email-based surveys [ 42 ]. Of the respondents, the majority were females (64.4%) and most (56.8%) were in the age category of 25–29 years.

In regards to training, the majority of respondents (84.8%) obtained their HN/HND Bachelor’s degree from Kyambogo University and most (61.4%) completed their studies in the years 2013–2016. Close to half of the respondents (44.7%) had undertaken further training at different levels; post-graduate diploma/certificate (19.7%), master’s degree (23.5%), and Ph.D. (1.5%).

In regards to places of internship, regional referral hospitals and the national referral hospital were the main places attended during the first internship at 42.5 and 20.5% respectively. On the contrary, non-government organizations and regional referral hospitals were mainly attended for the second internships at 30.2 and 16% respectively. As per the regions of Uganda where internships were undertaken, most respondents undertook their first internship in the central region (55.1%) followed by the western region (18.9%). The same trend was observed for the second internship with 60 and 20% of respondents respectively.

As for current employment; the majority of the respondents (60.9%) were employed by non-governmental organizations and the minority by healthcare-related facilities (12.2%). The northern and central regions of Uganda had the most graduates employed at 34.8 and 33.9% respectively. A small percentage of graduates (9.1%) reportedly worked outside Uganda.

Academic staff and work/internship supervisors

A total of 14 academic staff and 11 work/internship supervisors were interviewed in this study as shown in Table 2 . The majority (64.3%) were females, 57.1% worked in Kyambogo University, 57.1% held doctorate level of training, and 42.9% had more than ten years of lecturing experience. On the other hand, 63.6% of the interviewed work/internship supervisors were males, 63.6% worked in regional referral hospitals, and 54.5% were in the position of a senior nutritionist.

Stakeholders’ perceptions of the nutrition and dietetics challenges faced by communities

As summarised in Table 3 , the top five challenges mentioned by the HN/HND graduates included malnutrition in its different forms (60.5%); poor nutrition knowledge (43%); food insecurity (37.7%); non-communicable/chronic diseases (25.4%); and undesirable cultural and religious beliefs and practices (14.9%). Other challenges mentioned by the graduates included low dietary diversity (10.5% respondents); misleading information on nutrition (9.6%); inadequate maternal, infant, young child, and adolescent nutrition feeding practices (7.9%); and inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene practices (7%).

Based on the illustrative quotes by the academic staff and the work/internship supervisors as further summarised in Table 3 , the nutrition-specific challenges were related to the high prevalence of malnutrition in its different forms; low dietary diversity as “very few families can afford to eat the recommended minimum dietary diversity …” ; and inadequate maternal, infant, young child, and adolescent feeding due to the observation that “… most children are weaned early and left under the care of their grandparents …” Some of the nutrition-sensitive challenges were observed to be related to food insecurity due to “limitations in food access and availability …” ; poor nutrition knowledge given that “some community members lack knowledge on which foods to eat, how to prepare food, and on the frequency of feeding …” ; undesirable cultural and religious beliefs and practices; and misleading nutrition information due to “limited access to information on nutrition & dietetics …”.

Stakeholders’ perceptions of the nutrition and dietetics services requested for and provided to communities

Graduates’ responses were grouped under seven major domains as summarised in Table 4 . Under the category of services requested by communities, responses were received from 109 graduates with the main services falling in the domains of nutrition awareness, education, and counselling (55%); integrated management of acute malnutrition (46.8%); food security and livelihoods support (33.9%); management of non-communicable diseases (26.6%); nutrition screening (22.9%); maternal, infant, young child, and adolescent nutrition (17.4%); and water, sanitation and hygiene (10.1%).

For the nutrition and dietetic services provided by employers, the majority of respondents (56%) mentioned nutrition awareness, education, and counselling services as being the main provided services; followed by integrated management of acute malnutrition (54%); food security and livelihood support (47%); nutrition screening (28%); management of non-communicable and communicable diseases (22.0%); maternal, infant, young child and adolescent nutrition (19%); and water, sanitation and hygiene (14%).

When asked about their views on the would-be priority nutrition and dietetics services to provide, most graduates (64.3%) mentioned services under the domain of nutrition awareness, education, and counselling; followed by food security and livelihood support (41.8%); integrated management of acute malnutrition (31.6%); maternal, infant, young child, and adolescent nutrition (14.3%); management of non-communicable and communicable diseases (12.2%); and water, sanitation and hygiene (8.2%). Some illustrative quotes to justify the responses are summarised along with the responses in Table 4 .

The responses by the academic staff and the work/internship supervisors in regards to the nutrition and dietetic services provided in communities were coded under similar themes as those used for the HN/HND graduate as also summarised in Table 4 . Based on the illustrative quotes, under the theme of management of non-communicable and communicable diseases; respondents noted the provision of interventions that largely address the management of nutrition-related problems by ‘fairly’ large hospitals and referral hospitals. Relatedly, services in regards to the treatment of severe acute malnutrition, therapeutic feeding, and supplementation with Ready-to-use-therapeutic feeds for those that meet the required criteria were perceived to be provided under the theme of integrated management of acute malnutrition.

Under the theme of food security and livelihood support; mention was made for the provision of nutrition livelihood programs, food relief, and cash for work interventions. Some of the services perceived to be provided under the theme of maternal, infant, young child, and adolescent nutrition included child health and nutrition services in clinics, antenatal nutrition education, food demonstrations in infant and young child feeding, and health education. Under the theme of nutrition screening, mention was made of nutrition assessment and routine community nutrition screening for children. Some of the services mentioned under the theme of nutrition awareness, education, and counselling included guidance and counselling and community nutrition education. Other mentioned services included water, sanitation, and hygiene; and product development and food processing under the themes of water, sanitation, and hygiene, and business and industry respectively.

Stakeholders’ perceptions of the nature of work and job roles performed by practicing HN/HND graduates

As per the graduates’ responses, the nature of work done by the practicing graduates was categorised under seven major domains (see Table 5 ) of organizational leadership and management (69.6%); management of nutrition-related disease conditions at health facility and or community level (59.1%); nutrition and health promotion (57.4%); research and documentation (53%); advocacy, communication and awareness (23%); academia (7.1%); and that of the business/industry (3.6%).

For the respondents whose work entailed aspects of organizational leadership and management; the main mentioned roles included leadership (75%); project planning, management and implementation (53.8%); project monitoring and evaluation (30.4%); budgeting and accountability (22.5%); and human resources management (18.8%).

For the respondents with job roles categorized under the domain of management of nutrition conditions at the health facility and community level, the main mentioned work roles included nutrition screening or assessment (76.1% of respondents); offering of inpatient and outpatient therapeutic care each at 58.2%; supplementary feeding (52.2%); nutrition education and counselling (39.4%), nutrition supplies management (20.9%); monitoring, supervision and quality improvement (19.4%); and community nutrition work (16.4%).

The main work roles performed by graduates engaged in nutrition and health promotion included nutrition and health promotion (62.1%); capacity building (52.3%); offering technical support (18.5%); and growth monitoring and promotion (3%).

For undergraduates engaged in research and documentation, all (100%) reportedly participated in dissemination; followed by 73.8% that undertook report writing, 45.9% that participating in carrying out nutrition surveys, 8.2% that did data entry and analysis, and 6.6% that contributed to proposal writing.

For the undergraduates whose job roles were categorized as falling in the domain of advocacy, communications, and awareness, the majority (76.9%) mentioned carrying out community/stakeholder engagements. This was followed by undertaking stakeholder orientations and networking each at 7.7% and coordinating advocacy events (3.8%).

Besides the feedback from the HN/HND graduates, this study also explored the views of academic staff and those of the work/internship supervisors on the types of employment in which the HN/HND graduates were engaged as well as the work/job roles they performed. From the responses, it was evident that employed graduates mainly worked as nutritionists in different positions; across different sectors; and in both government and non-government agencies. As per the following respondents’ narratives, the ministry of health, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, private health facilities, United Nations agencies, hotels, district local governments, and special care homes included some of the mentioned employers.

“They are employed in the public service as nutritionists at the national level, in the ministry of health, in regional referral hospitals, and at local government level …. [They] also work as nutrition specialists with various NGO’s and United Nations bodies.”

“Nutritionists in humanitarian relief based organizations; nutrition program managers in NGOs; nutritionists and dieticians in the national referral hospital, district hospitals, and private hospitals; nutrition and diet consultants; lecturers; and researchers.”

The graduates were regarded to be performing multiple cross-cutting roles in the different types of employment. For instance, one of the respondents noted the HN/HND job roles to involve “Conducting nutrition education for various groups; individual nutrition counselling sessions for various nutrition-related conditions; dietary assessment; conducting of food demonstration sessions in infant and young child feeding; and nutrition project planning and implementation.”

The performed roles were however observed by one of the respondents to vary according to the job position, “Roles vary depending on the rank. Supervisory work is done as one grows in rank; other roles assigned depending on rank include nutrition assessment; … undertaking nutrition interventions for clients; giving food supplements, and client follow up.”

Stakeholders’ perceptions of the knowledge and skills required of HN/HND graduates in Uganda

From the multiple responses by the HN/HND graduates, 20 knowledge and skills themes were identified. Based on these themes; an evaluation of the respondents’ perceptions in regards to knowledge and skills expected of HN/HND graduates; knowledge and skills gaps amongst individual graduates; knowledge and skills inadequately attained while at university; and the knowledge and skills recommended as a training minimum for HN/HND was done as summarised in Table 6 .

In regards to the knowledge and skills expected of HN/HND graduates, responses were received from 132 respondents. The top six mentioned themes were integrated management of acute malnutrition (75.8%); communication, education, and counselling (62.1%); medical/clinical nutrition therapy (56.8%); research, proposal, and report writing (52.3%); nutrition screening and assessment (47.7%); and leadership and management (47%).

For the knowledge and skills gaps amongst individual graduates; responses were received from 120 graduates. The top six mentioned gaps included medical/clinical nutrition therapy (61.7%); project planning, management, monitoring and evaluation (38.3%); integrated management of acute malnutrition (31.7%); communication, education, and counselling (18.3%); leadership and management (11.7%); and research, data analysis, proposal and report writing (10%).

Concerning the knowledge and skills not adequately attained during undergraduate training, feedback was received from 100 respondents. The top six knowledge and skills themes were medical/clinical nutrition therapy (61%); research, data analysis, proposal and report writing (23%); leadership and management (19%); project planning, management, monitoring and evaluation (17.6%); integrated management of acute malnutrition; and communication, education, and counselling (13% each); and nutrition advocacy (10%).

As relates to the knowledge and skills recommended for minimum training, 97 respondents provided feedback. The top recommended knowledge and skills themes were in the categories of medical/clinical nutrition therapy (44.3%); integrated management of acute malnutrition (41.2%); communication, education, and counselling (27.8%); nutrition screening and assessment (25.8%); leadership and management (19.6%), and nutrition advocacy (13.4%).

Similar to the responses by HN/HND respondents, the perceptions of academic staff and work/internship supervisors were multifaceted. Illustrative quotes of the academic staff and work/internship supervisors’ responses when coded to the same knowledge and skills domains as was for the HN/HND respondents are summarised in Table 7 . Under agribusiness, the need for knowledge and skills in crop management and backyard farming was mentioned. Under medical/clinical nutrition therapy, it was expressed that Nutrition and Dietetics professionals needed knowledge and skills on how to assess, categorize and apply diet therapy to correct and manage disease abnormalities and dietary recommendations for specific age groups. Relatedly, HN/HND graduates were noted to have knowledge and skills gaps in clinical care and support for clients; management of clients in the absence of medical officers; management of non-communicable diseases; making of proper diagnosis; and dietetic management.

Under the domain of nutrition computing, it was expressed that undergraduates needed to have the knowledge and skills necessary for the use of technology, basic computing, and data analysis. Knowledge and skills gaps were noted to exist in the form of inadequate mastery of statistics and limited exposure to the use of modern technology.

Under the broad domain of maternal, infant, young child, and adolescent nutrition, stakeholders expressed a need for knowledge and skills in infant and young child feeding, as well as knowledge and skills in specific areas of maternal, infant, young child, and adolescent nutrition. However, some respondents noted the existence of knowledge and skills gaps in infant and young child feeding.

In the domain of leadership and management, knowledge and skills were noted to be required in team working skills, interpersonal and organizational skills; critical thinking; and the management of human and material resources. Respondents noted the existence of knowledge and skills gaps in leadership and governance, conflict management and negotiation, and mobilization and fundraising.

Some of the knowledge and skills noted as being required in the domain of communication, education, and counselling included nutrition education and counselling, facilitation skills, communication more so as relates to behavioural change, and nutrition education and advocacy. Noted knowledge and skills gaps existed in communication skills and interpersonal skills, confidence talking to the public, education session planning and implementation, inability to effectively communicate with clients, development of IEC materials, and presentation skills.

Under the domain of nutrition screening and assessment, knowledge and skills were said to be expected of undergraduates in nutrition anthropometry, biochemical, clinical, and dietary assessment. The undergraduates were however said to have inadequate skills in nutrition assessment.

In the domain of project planning and management, knowledge and skills were said to be expected of undergraduates in planning, budgeting, policy formulation, and nutrition governance; understanding of multisectoral nutrition programming, and project implementation. Notable knowledge and skills gaps existed in monitoring and evaluation, project planning, budgeting, and writing bidding proposals for organizations.

The expected knowledge and skills under the domain of research, data analysis, proposal, and report writing related to undertaking field and laboratory-based research; statistical data analysis and interpretation; report writing; and analytical skills. However, knowledge and skills gaps were said to exist in different areas including proposal writing, general research knowledge, and report writing and data collection.

In the domain of anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, pathology, and biochemistry, respondent expressed a need for knowledge and skills in anatomy, drug prescription with minimal reliance on medical doctors, understanding of the relationship between foods and the blood system, pharmacy and pathology, and biochemistry and food microbiology. Some noted knowledge and skills gaps were in the ability to link nutrition and body system functions, and limitations in anatomy and physiology.

In the broad domain of product development and food safety management, knowledge and skills were expected of undergraduates in quality control analysis, food safety in nutrition, and food standards and laws.

Under the domain of professional ethics, respondents indicated the need for undergraduates to exhibit knowledge and skills in ethics and professionalism. However, knowledge and skills gaps were noted in work ethics and client management, and general ethics and professionalism.

An extra domain of laws, policies, and regulations was created based on the trainer’s and supervisors’ responses. Under this domain, Nutrition and Dietetics professionals were expected to exhibit an understanding of key policies and guidelines on nutrition at the global and national levels. However, it was echoed that HN/HND professionals exhibited knowledge and skills gaps in nutrition policy and legislation.

Observations from the stakeholder validation workshop

A one-day results validation workshop was undertaken on the 3rd of October 2019 at the Grand Global Hotel located in Makerere Kikoni, Kampala Uganda. The workshop aimed to engage stakeholders in reviewing and commenting on the appropriateness of the study results. The workshop followed a predefined formal agenda that was communicated to the participants before the workshop. Key on the agenda was the oral presentation of the study background, methodology, and results by the principal researcher; plenary reactions, discussions, and suggestions in regards to the presented content; and three group exercises each followed by a plenary presentation and discussions. To document workshop proceedings, three experienced note-takers were engaged in taking notes; audio recording of the plenary presentations and discussions was done, and photographs were taken at different intervals. The validation workshop was attended by 31 participants (one from the food/business industry, five working with private hospitals, 12 working with universities, two working with district local governments, six working with NGOs, one working with a research-based institution, two working with regional referral hospitals, one working as a private consultant, and one working with the ministry of health).

In general, the participants judged the study to be vital and timely towards informing on-going processes in the development of a national HN/HND training and practice standard that was considered inexistent at the time of the study; “Uganda has no National standard stipulating the training and practice requirements for nutrition and dietetics …. We hope this research can be used to inform such process”. One of the participants sought clarification on how the study links and informs curriculum reforms; “At what point do the study findings link with the curriculum; is it the issue of competencies not being in the curriculum or is it due to how the teaching is done? How do we link these?”

Participants further recognised the multisectoral nature of implementing nutrition interventions at the global and national level and called for the need to take caution when identifying the knowledge and skills required of HN/HND graduates to perform in a multisectoral setting:

“Issues like water, sanitation, and hygiene; food security; and livelihood support as reported in the findings are very key as they introduce an element of multi-sectorality … caution needs to be undertaken in regards to the nutrition and dietetics training needs under the multisectoral approach. We must be cautious about the knowledge and skills required under the multisectoral setting.”

Relatedly, the need to appreciate the roles of other professions in the multisectoral approach; linking with them, and understanding their views in regards to the knowledge and skills they expect of HN/HND professionals was emphasised:

“We should appreciate that other professions providing services that are supportive of nutrition and dietetics services do exist. We need to know how to link with them to implement multisectoral nutrition and dietetics services.”

“We need to know how other professionals perceive of our profession, and the knowledge and competencies they expect of us …. Coming from a clinical and research setting, I sense others don’t know what to expect of nutritionists. Can we collect additional data on this? Getting the perceptions of other professionals that work with nutritionists and dietitians on what they expect of nutritionists and dietitians can enable us to make better curriculum reforms in nutrition and dietetics training.”

In discussing the knowledge and skills required for the practice of HN/HND in Uganda, observations were made that some knowledge and skills areas had been lowly ranked:

“Why was the response rate on professional ethics low? Is it because adherence to ethics is low in professional nutrition and dietetics practice or is it because nutrition and dietetics professionals do not value ethics? The curriculum needs to fully equip trainees with professional ethics because there is still a challenge on which ethics guide nutrition and dietetics practice in Uganda.”

“Patient clerking was missed out in the results yet it is an important competency that has to be mastered by nutritionists and dietitians …”.

Some participants also argued that graduates exhibited minimal competency in some of the areas considered core for the practice of HN/HND in Uganda.

“Nutrition in emergencies is not well taught in Uganda to Bachelor’s students of nutrition yet many undergraduates work in emergency contexts and or with humanitarian agencies whose work entails aspects of emergency nutrition …”.

“The current transmission of knowledge is insufficient … fresh undergraduates severely lack practical clinical skills …”.

“The undergraduates we have can generate statistics but not use the information yet professionals should be able to interact with the information, generate evidence to guide programming … statistics are basic at the undergraduate level but undergraduates need more than is stipulated for this level …. [Graduates] don’t appreciate the use of statistics to guide programming, this is reflected when they start working.”

“Knowledge and skills need to be tailored to the environment in which the undergraduates operate. What challenges are undergraduates facing in the environments they are operating? We should consider the policy and planning environment because these affect professional work.”

The need to introduce and or strengthen training in family planning, procurement, leadership, and nutrition policy formulation was recommended:

“It may be important to consider including family planning, strengthening training in procurement and logistics of nutrition materials and supplies, and adding nutrition leadership and management as these are lacking in the HN/HND Bachelors training curriculum.”

“Many of the challenges presented are in the services sector but not in policy yet [many] challenges exist in the implementation of nutrition-related policies. Nutrition and dietetics related challenges presented have limited focus on policies being implemented yet the government, in terms of systems capacity, under the Ministries of Health and Agriculture focuses on implementing what is stipulated in the policies. I suggest for the need to undertake further reflection on nutrition-related policies in the country and the capacity of concerned ministries to implement nutrition as stipulated in the existing policies and sectoral strategies …”.

“There is a need to improve utilization of HMIS [Health Information Management Systems] data collected from the community by nutritionists.”

The need to undertake assessments to determine the capacity readiness of institutions of higher learning to train HN/HND in Uganda was also emphasised; “Have you considered looking at the capacity of the different institutions training nutrition undergraduates in Uganda in terms of research, equipment, and human resources …? ”.

This study used a cross-sectional mixed methods design to assess the nutrition and dietetic needs and the requisite professional competencies in Uganda. Participants included graduates of the Bachelors in HN/HND respectively obtained from the Makerere and Kyambogo Universities of Uganda in the period 2005–2016; academic staff that train HN/HND in two universities; and work/internship supervisors of the HN/HND graduates. The majority of the HN/HND respondents graduated in the years 2013–2016. The academic staff and HN/HND work/internship supervisors that participated in the study had varied experiences; academic and non-academic. Besides the Universities, non-academic institutions including hospitals, government agencies, and non-governmental organisations were reported to have been instrumental in the training of nutrition and dietetics through offering internship opportunities to HN/HND study interns. Most graduates undertook study internships in non-government organizations, regional and national referral hospitals in the central region of Uganda. Less than half of the graduates had undertaken additional training; those who had done so had mainly obtained master’s level training. Graduates were employed by government and non-government organisations across the different regions of Uganda; with some employed outside the country. Non-governmental organisations were the main employers of HN/HND graduates with the northern and central regions of Uganda having the most concentration of employed graduates.

Stakeholders generally indicated that communities faced a variety of nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive challenges. Hence, the nutrition interventions requested, provided, and considered a priority to provide to communities were both nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive. Nutrition interventions in the areas of awareness, education, and counselling; integrated management of acute malnutrition; and food security and livelihoods were found to be the main ones demanded by communities, provided by employers, and also considered by the graduates as a priority to provide. The nature of work done by HN/HND graduates varied; with the dominant entailing aspects of organizational leadership and management; management of nutrition-related disease conditions both in health facilities and communities; nutrition and health promotion; research and documentation; and advocacy, communication, and awareness. About 20 knowledge and skills areas were identified as being required by HN/HND graduates to implement the different nutrition interventions in Uganda. Of these, integrated management of acute malnutrition; communication, education, and counselling; medical/clinical nutrition therapy; research, proposal and report writing; nutrition screening and assessment; and leadership and management comprised the top six mentioned as being expected of graduates. Although highlighted amongst the top knowledge and skills areas required of HN/HND graduates, medical/clinical nutrition therapy; integrated management of acute malnutrition; communication, education, and counselling; leadership and management; and research, data analysis, proposal and report writing also featured amongst the top knowledge and skills gaps amongst individual HN/HND graduates. HN/HND graduates further indicated not having adequately attained knowledge and skills in most of the key areas they are expected to be competent; pointing to a likely mismatch between the knowledge and skills expected of HN/HND undergraduates to those obtained through training.

Bruening et al. [ 43 ] noted that skills development in nutrition and dietetics requires professional training and supervised practice for one to progress from being competent to becoming an expert. The observations that some graduates had undertaken the initiative to undertake further formal training and that the regional and national referral hospitals and non-government organizations took on high numbers of student interns highlights three major aspects: (1) the need for professional growth and development by way of having tailored training programs through which HN/HND trainees can obtain experiential training to develop their professional competence profiles as well as obtain higher academic credentials; (2) the emerging relevancy of non-academic institutions to support HN/HND training in Uganda by offering experiential attachments to trainees; and (3) the value of interprofessional and inter-institutional collaborations in HN/HND training. The observation that most internships were undertaken in organizations located mainly in the central region and yet graduates worked across all the different regions of the country calls for initiatives to expose students to the cultural and social welfare conditions prevalent across all regions of the country during training. The variedness in the employment of HN/HND graduates to an extent shows a probable increase in employment opportunities for HN/HND professionals in sectors beyond health. This is probably due to the increased focus by different stakeholders, government, and non-government, to address nutrition multisectorally hence creating more demand for the HN/HND professionals in different sectors. The observation that most graduates were working in the northern region of the country could be due to the increased presence of NGOs operating in that region due to the influx of refugees. The northern region of Uganda had different refugee camps including the Bidi bidi refugee settlement which was considered one of the largest refugee settlements in the world [ 44 ]. Given that most organizations have their headquarters in the central region of Uganda; it was not surprising that the central region had the second-highest number of graduates employed.

Although the findings of this study are mainly based on the provider perspectives, this study reaffirms findings in other literature that communities across Uganda face multiple nutrition and dietetic challenges [ 14 , 45 , 46 ] that require to be addressed by different stakeholders, at different levels, through the implementation of both nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions [ 14 , 47 , 48 ]. The stakeholders’ perceptions also justify earlier observation that communities face multiple nutrition and dietetics challenges that require a multiplicity of interventions to be addressed [ 49 ]. Worth noting also is that Uganda embraced the multisectoral model of implementing nutrition interventions through which different actors and sectors are mobilized to address malnutrition at different levels [ 14 , 48 , 50 ]. Given that awareness, education, and counselling are key in influencing behavioural change, findings of this study also substantiate earlier findings by Lubogo and Orach [ 51 ] that pointed to community and behavioural nutrition research as one of the most desirable options for addressing undernutrition in Uganda. The nature of work and the related job roles performed by employed HN/HND graduates to an extent mirrored those of similar professionals in other countries including the developed countries. For instance, Registered Dietitians in the United States work in various sectors including health care settings, community and public health care settings, academia, research, food, and nutrition industry, and the business industry [ 22 ]. Some work roles were so specific to nutrition and dietetics and hence required specialized training. Other roles, though not requiring specific training in nutrition and dietetics were core for the Nutrition and Dietetics professionals to master for the graduates to exhibit all-round competency in the profession. This observation points to the need to equip Nutrition and Dietetics professionals in Uganda with both profession-specific and interprofessional knowledge and skills. According to Frenk, Julio, Chen, et al., [ 20 ] profession-specific competencies can be attained through CBE. On the other hand, interprofessional competencies can best be attained through interprofessional education that involves students of two or more professions learning together about each other’s roles [ 20 ]. Adoption of interprofessional education in nutrition and dietetics training is important given that Nutritionists and Dietitians work in teams with other professionals.

Further review of the identified knowledge and skills themes reveals some similarities in the identified knowledge and skills themes to what has been proposed for degree-level training in the regional model nutrition curriculum for health workers based in the East, Central, and Southern Africa Health Community [ 52 ]. On the other hand, these findings could also be highlighting the existence of probable inefficiencies in the curricula and inadequacies in the capacity of higher education institutions to train competent HN/HND in Uganda. Based on these observations and bearing in mind that “Inadequate knowledge, skills, and inappropriate attitudes can all form obstacles to good health care” [ 53 ], we foresee a need for undertaking curricula and institutional reforms in the training of HN/HND in Uganda to ensure that graduates get equipped with the knowledge and skills required for the practice of nutrition and dietetics at the national, regional, and global level. It should be highlighted that the responses were obtained from HN/HND graduates that were trained using earlier versions of the curriculum. Kyambogo University, in particular, adopted a new four-year curriculum in 2016 to replace the three-year curriculum that it had been using. The highlighted inefficiencies could have been corrected in the revised curriculum. Hence, the HN/HND responses on the knowledge and skills not adequately obtained during training would likely differ if undergraduates trained using the recent curriculum for Kyambogo were interviewed. However, the fact that responses were obtained from practicing graduates gives a clear indication of the nutrition and dietetics related challenges addressed by the graduates; the knowledge and skills gaps amongst the graduates; and the knowledge and skills required of Nutrition and Dietetics professionals to practice in the varied health systems settings in Uganda.

The need for competent Nutrition and Dietetics professionals as highlighted in this study aligns with the aspirations by the Government of Uganda to train and equip graduates with the necessary skills and abilities to meet Uganda’s development needs [ 15 , 16 ]. It is also in line with the African Union strategy to “Reorient Africa’s education and training systems to meet the knowledge, competencies, skills, innovation and creativity required to … promote sustainable development at the national, sub-regional and continental levels” [ 25 ]. In line with the recommendation to improve the training of health professionals for the twenty-first century [ 20 ], it is worth noting that countries are increasingly adopting CBE in the training of their Nutrition and Dietetics professionals to equip graduates with the knowledge and skills required for health systems performance [ 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 ]. The adoption of CBE in HN/HND training in Africa is however still low [ 19 ] but has since been embraced by countries like South Africa [ 61 ]. Research undertaken in Kenya showed that undertaking curricula review is critical to improving the quality and relevance of health workforce training [ 62 ]. Although the possession of knowledge and skills required for health systems performance is key for all health professionals [ 20 ], whether undergraduates can possess all the expected/required competencies by the time they graduate is contested. In the United States of America, the development of skills by Nutrition and Dietetics professionals was envisaged to occur in different phases; from one being a novice, progressing to the level of an advanced beginner, to becoming competent, proficient and in the end an expert [ 19 , 43 ]. Based on this view, it can be assumed that defining who a competent Nutrition and Dietetics graduate is depends on what is stipulated in the existent national or institutional nutrition and dietetics training and practice standards/curriculum. However, there were no existent national specific training and practice standards/curricula for the HN/HND profession in Uganda at the time of undertaking this research. As also observed in our earlier study [ 19 ], the curriculum used to train HN/HND in Uganda were institutional specific and mainly specified learning outcomes instead of the competencies that students are expected to exhibit upon graduation.

Study implications

Education and practice.

From a training and practice perspective, the finding that HN/HND professionals were working in different sectors, within and outside the country re-emphasises the multisectorality of nutrition and dietetics and highlights a need for HN/HND graduates to be equipped with the knowledge and skills required for working with multiple actors, in a multisectoral setting, within and outside Uganda. As such, the need to reorient the current University HN/HND training programs to ensure that graduates obtain the knowledge and skills required for the job market while creating opportunities for graduates to further obtain and develop professional competencies in nutrition and dietetics is pertinent. We recommend using the study findings as a basis for (1) undertaking further stakeholder dialogues towards developing consensus on the key competencies that should be exhibited by all HN/HND graduates in Uganda and (2) subsequently developing a competency framework that delineates the sets of competencies that should be acquired at different levels of HN/HND training. Such a framework, developed basing on national evidence with the input of different stakeholders, has the added advantage of limiting the wholesale adoption of HN/HND training models based on other country contexts [ 20 ] and may further promote efficient investments in HN/HND professional education in Uganda. The identified competencies and the related competency framework should contain knowledge and skills specific to nutrition and dietetics including but not limited to areas such as nutrition assessment; medical/clinical nutrition therapy; integrated management of acute malnutrition; and infant and young child feeding as well as other general knowledge and skills in areas such as communication, education, and counselling; leadership and management; research; project planning and management; and advocacy, and social behavioural change for these have been shown by this study to be essential for the practice of nutrition and dietetics in Uganda’s varied health systems settings.

As identified in this study, the training of HN/HND professionals in Uganda requires the engagement of academic institutions for the provision of specialised formal training and non-academic institutions for experiential attachments. As such, there is a need for higher academic institutions to form formal partnerships with non-academic institutions. Forming training partnerships has the advantage of fostering experiential student learning, closer monitoring, and supervision of what students are exposed to during internship training. The formation of such partnerships may however necessitate the setting up of standards or criteria based upon which non-academic institutions are qualified and selected to host HN/HND student interns. However, as is currently, the engagement of non-academic institutions is less formal and no set national standards/criteria exist to guide the selection of which institutions should be engaged in HN/HND internship placements. We recommend the need for a policy that mandates Universities to (1) work with the relevant ministries of health, education, and agriculture, and other non-state actors that support nutrition and dietetic services delivery to develop national HN/HND training and practice standards as well as (2) formalise internship relations through signing Memorandums of Understanding with organisations meeting set practicum standards. Such measures will foster closer collaboration between academic institutions and the different organisation that employ HN/HND graduates in Uganda with the added benefit of improving nutrition and dietetics training and service delivery.

Further research to understand (1) the quality and relevancy of the HN/HND curricula currently used by different Universities in Uganda to the national job market requirements and (2) the higher education institutional capacity readiness to offer adequate nutrition and dietetics training in Uganda is needed.

Limitations

Amongst the HN/HND respondents; more females than males responded to the survey. This could be attributed to the social behavioural differences in the way males and females engage in online activities; females are reported to engage more in online information exchange than males [ 63 ]. Responding to this study involved more of information exchange. Most of the graduates that responded were from Kyambogo University, this was because this University had the most graduates having started offering the program for about seven years before Makerere University.

Some of the open responses by the HN/HND graduates were quantitized and analytical judgments arrived at based on the analysis of the quantitized responses rather than the respondent’s direct narratives. The conversion process tends to strip qualitative data of its contextual meaning and may hence introduce some bias in the process [ 38 ].

Some graduates with limited access to computers and internet connections and those who perceived the study questions to be targeted to employed graduates/graduates with experience in nutrition and dietetics did not respond. The responses were hence received from a smaller group of respondents and are not be statistically representative of the entire population of HN/HND graduates that completed their undergraduate studies from the Kyambogo and Makerere Universities of Uganda in the years 2005–2016. Relatedly, responses from the employers of HN/HND graduates and organisations that host HN/HND study internships were sought and received from a purposively selected smaller number of HN/HND work/internship supervisors and may not be broadly representative of all stakeholders in this category of study participants.

Based on the findings of this study, we conclude that: (1)communities of Uganda face multiple nutrition and dietetics challenges that are being addressed multisectorally; (2)HN/HND graduates trained in Uganda are well positioned to support implementation of different multisectoral nutrition and dietetics interventions but graduates possess knowledge and skills gaps even in some of the areas they are expected to exhibit competency; and (3) there is need to adequately equip HN/HND graduates trained in Uganda with the knowledge and skills required for addressng the multifaceted nutrition and dietetics challenges in the diverse national health systems settings. It is critical that the limitations in HN/HND graduates’ professional competencies as identified in this study and the weaknesses in institutional capacities to address nutrition and dietetics related challenges in different sectors of Uganda as identified in other studies [ 47 ] are addressed. Thus, the need for (1) reorienting HN/HND curricula towards the adoption of competency-based education to better equip the graduates with the knowledge and skills required for health systems performance; (2) a policy shift that encourages the development of National HN/HND training and practice standards/curriculum, the formation of formal partnerships between academic and non-academic institutions, and mainstreaming of nutrition during the legislation, policy formation and programming; and (3) undertaking research at scheduled intervals to continously evaluate the responsiveness of the HN/HND curricula to the national job requirements and the capacity of Ugandan universities to offer quality training in HN/HND are recommended.

Availability of data and materials

The questionnaires and consent forms used in this study are available as supplementary files for this paper. Due to limits required by ethical approval, the raw datasets for this study are not shareable. However additional information on the analyses undertaken can be obtained from the corresponding author on reasonable request. Contact [email protected] or [email protected] .

Respectively refers to Nutrition and Dietetics professionals graduating from the Makerere University and the Kyambogo University of Uganda.

The system of graduation in Kyambogo and Makerere Universities of Uganda is that candidates who fulfill university academic graduation requirements either graduate towards the end of the same year in which they completed the studies, which usually is in December or in the first two months of the following year, An example is that graduates completing studies in 2016 may graduate in December of 2016 or in January or February of 2017. In this research, all candidates who indicated having graduated in 2017 actually completed studies in 2016 and hence considered as graduates of the 2016 class not the 2017 class.

Abbreviations

Human Nutrition/Human Nutrition and Dietetics

Sustainable Development Goals

Competency-based Education

Non-governmental organizations

Uniform Resource Locator

Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

Statistical Package for the Social Sciences

Doctor of Philosophy

Ministries, Departments, and Agencies

FAO, WHO. The nutrition challenge and food system solutions. 2018. www.who.int/nutrition/publications/globaltargets2025_policybrief_anaemia . Accessed 10 Aug 2019.

Sauer AC, Li J, Partridge J, Sulo S. Assessing the impact of nutrition interventions on health and nutrition outcomes of community-dwelling adults: a systematic review. Nutr Diet Suppl. 2018;10:45–57. https://doi.org/10.2147/NDS.S177248 .

Article CAS Google Scholar

African Development Bank. Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Action Plan 2018-2025. 2018. https://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Generic-Documents/Banking_on_Nutrition_ActionPlan_A4_V1d_single.pdf . Accessed 13 Jun 2019.

Baker P, Hawkes C, Wingrove K, Demaio AR, Parkhurst J, Thow AM, et al. What drives political commitment for nutrition? A review and framework synthesis to inform the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition BMJ Glob Heal 2018;0:485. doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2017-000485 .

Fanzo J, Marshall Q, Dobermann D, Wong J, Merchan RI, Jaber MI, et al. Integration of nutrition into extension and advisory services: a synthesis of experiences, lessons, and recommendations. Food Nutr Bull. 2015;36:120–37. https://doi.org/10.1177/0379572115586783 .

Article PubMed Google Scholar

United Nations. Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 2015. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/21252030 Agenda for Sustainable Development web.pdf. Accessed 25 Jul 2016.

United Nations. The sustainable development goals report 2018. New York; 2018. https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/files/report/2018/TheSustainableDevelopmentGoalsReport2018-EN.pdf . Accessed 10 Aug 2019.

FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP, WHO. The state of food security and nutrition in the world 2019: safeguarding against economic slowdowns and downturns. Rome, Italy; 2019. www.fao.org/publications .

United Nations. United Nations decade of action on nutrition (2016–2025). 2016. http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/70/L.42 .

World Health Organization. Global Nutrition Targets 2025: Policy brief series. Geneva; 2014. http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/149018/WHO_NMH_NHD_14.2_eng.pdf;jsessionid=3678535335B670F9AF28034342C0ECB9?sequence=1 . Accessed 17 Apr 2018.

Ruel MT, Alderman H, Maternal and Child Nutrition Study Group. Nutrition-sensitive interventions and programmes: how can they help to accelerate progress in improving maternal and child nutrition? Lancet Ser. 2013;382. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(13)60843-0 .

Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement. The importance of good nutrition. 2015. https://scalingupnutrition.org/nutrition/the-importance-of-good-nutrition/ . Accessed 12 Aug 2019.

Rasanathan K, Bennett S, Atkins V, Beschel R, Carrasquilla G, Charles J, et al. Governing multisectoral action for health in low- and middle-income countries. PLoS Med. 2017;14:e1002285. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002285 .

Article PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Government of Uganda. Uganda Nutrition Action Plan 2011-2016. 2011. https://www.unicef.org/uganda/Nutrition_Plan_2011.pdf . Accessed 18 May 2017.

Government of Uganda. Second National Development Plan (NDPII) 2015/16–2019/20. Uganda, Kampala; 2015.

National Planning Authority. Uganda Vision 2040. Uganda, Kampala; 2010. http://npa.ug/wp-content/themes/npatheme/documents/vision2040.pdf .

Ministry of Health. Health Sector Development Plan 2015/16–2019/20. 2015. http://health.go.ug/sites/default/files/Health Sector Development Plan 2015-16_2019–20.pdf. Accessed 17 Jun 2016.

Ruel MT, Alderman H. Nutrition-sensitive interventions and programmes: how can they help to accelerate progress in improving maternal and child nutrition? Lancet. 2013;382:536–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(13)60843-0 .

Kikomeko KP, Ochola S, Ogada I, Kaaya NA, Nakitto P. Strengthening Undergraduate Human Nutrition and Dietetics Training in Uganda: The Need to Adopt Competency-Based Education. J Educ Pract. 2019. https://doi.org/10.7176/JEP/10-21-08 .

Frenk, Julio, Chen L, Zulfiqar, A B, Cohen J Nigel, et al. Health Professionals for a New Century: Transforming Education to Strengthen Health Systems in an Interdependent World. Lancet. 2010. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(10)61854-5 .

Suhairom N, Musta’amal HA, Amin M, Fadila N, Kamin Y, Wahid A, Husna N. Quality culinary workforce competencies for sustainable career development among culinary professionals. Int J Hosp Manag. 2019;81:205–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.IJHM.2019.04.010 .

Article Google Scholar

DiMaria-Ghalili, A. R, Mirtallo, M. J, Tobin, W. B, Hark L, Horn, V. L, Palmer, A. C. Challenges and opportunities for nutrition education and training in the health care professions: intraprofessional and interprofessional call to action 1–4. Am J Clin Nutr. 2014. doi: https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.113.073536 .

Palermo C, Hughes R, Mccall L. An evaluation of a public health nutrition workforce development intervention for the nutrition and dietetics workforce. Hum Nutr Diet. 2010;23:244–53. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-277X.2010.01069.x .

Kris-Etherton PM, Akabas SR, Douglas P, Kohlmeier M, Laur C, Lenders CM, et al. Nutrition competencies in health professionals’ education and training: a new paradigm 1-3. Adv Nutr. 2015;6:83–7. https://doi.org/10.3945/an.114.006734 .

African Union. Continental education strategy for Africa 2016–2025. 2016. https://www.au.int/web/sites/default/files/documents/29958-doc-cesa_-_english-v9.pdf . Accessed 21 Mar 2017.

Namugumya BS, Candel JJL, Talsma EF, Termeer CJAM. A mechanisms-based explanation of nutrition policy (dis) integration processes in Uganda. Food Policy. 2020:101878. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2020.101878 .

Kiguli S, Mubuuke R, Baingana R, Kijjambu S, Maling S, Waako P, et al. A consortium approach to competency-based undergraduate medical education in Uganda: process, Oppurtunities and Challenges. Educ Heal. 2014;27:163–9.

Gruppen LD, Mangrulkar RS, Kolars JC. The promise of competency-based education in the health professions for improving global health. Hum Resour Health. 2012;10:43. https://doi.org/10.1186/1478-4491-10-43 .

Zheng M. Conceptualization of cross-sectional mixed methods studies in health science: a methodological review. 2015. www.eajournals.org . Accessed 11 Dec 2018.

Schoonenboom J, Burke JR. How to Construct a Mixed Methods Research Design. Springer. 2017;69:107–31.

Google Scholar

Neergaard MA, Olesen F, Andersen RS, Sondergaard J. Qualitative description-the poor cousin of health research? BMC Med Res Methodol. 2009;9.

Brandshaw C, Atkinson S, Doody O. Employing a qualitative description approach in health care research. Glob Qual Nurs Res. 2017;4:1–8. https://doi.org/10.1177/2333393617742282 .

Colorafi KJ, Evans B. Qualitative descriptive methods in health science research. Heal Environ Res Des J. 2016;9:16–25. https://doi.org/10.1177/1937586715614171 .

Nulty DD. The adequacy of response rates to online and paper surveys: what can be done? Assess Eval High Educ. 2008;33:301–14.

Presser S, Couper MP, Lessler JT, Martin J, Rothgeb JM. Methods for testing and evaluating survey questions. Public Opin Q. 2004;68:109–30.

Rabe M. Revisiting “insiders” and “outsiders” as social researchers. Afr Sociol Rev 2003;7:149–161. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43657708?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents . Accessed 7 Oct 2020.

Michaud-Létourneau I, Pelletier DL. Perspectives on the coordination of multisectoral nutrition in Mozambique and an emerging framework. Food Policy. 2017;70:84–97. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.FOODPOL.2017.07.001 .

Nzabonimpa JP. Quantitizing and qualitizing (im-)possibilities in mixed methods research. Methodol Innov. 2018;11:205979911878902.

Driscoll DL, Appiah-Yeboah A, Salib P, Rupert DJ. Merging Qualitative and Quantitative Data in Mixed Methods Research: How To and Why Not. Ecol Environ Anthropol (University Georg. 2007. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/icwdmeea/18 . Accessed 2 Sep 2020.

Republic of Uganda. Uganda Hospital and Health Center IV Census Survey. Kampala, Uganda; 2014.

Driscoll DL, Rupert DJ, Appiah-Yeboah A, Salib P. Research Triangle park, NC 27709, [email protected] Afua Appiah-Yeboah Health Analyst, RTI International Philip Salib Health Analyst, RTI International. 2007. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/icwdmeea/18 . Accessed 2 Sep 2020.

Cunningham N, Pham T, Kennedy B, Gillard A, Ibrahim J. A cross-sectional survey using electronic distribution of a questionnaire to subscribers of educational material written by clinicians, for clinicians, to evaluate whether practice change resulted from reading the clinical Communiqué. BMJ Open. 2017:7.

Bruening M, Udarbe AZ, Yakes Jimenez E, Stell Crowley P, Fredericks DC, Ann Edwards Hall L. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Standards of Practice and Standards of Professional Performance for Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (Competent, Proficient, and Expert) in Public Health and Community Nutrition. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2015;115:1699–1709.e39. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2015.06.374 .

FAO. How SAFE access to energy can make a difference in refugees’ lives | FAO | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; 2019. http://www.fao.org/resilience/news-events/detail/en/c/1073106/ . Accessed 7 Nov 2019.

Uganda Bureau of Statistics, ICF. Uganda Demographic and Health Survey 2016. Kampala Uganda and Rockville, Maryland; 2018. www.DHSprogram.com . Accessed 8 Sep 2018.

Pomeroy-Stevens, Amanda, Agostino AD’. Snapshots of Nutrition in Uganda: 2014 Copendium. 2014. www.spring-nutrition.org . Accessed 9 Aug 2019.

Agaba E, Ghosh S, Griffiths J. Understanding pathways to better nutrition at district level: lessons from Uganda. Afr J Food, Agric Nutr Dev 2017;17:12837–12853. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajfand/article/view/163668/153144 . Accessed 12 Aug 2019.

Pomeroy-Stevens A, Agostino AD’, Adero N, Merchant HF, Muzoora A, Mupere E, et al. Prioritizing and funding the Uganda nutrition action plan. Food Nutr Bull 2016;37:124–141.

Reinhardt K, Fanzo J. Addressing chronic malnutrition through multi-Sectoral, sustainable approaches: a review of the causes and consequences. Front Nutr. 2014;1. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2014.00013 .

Republic of Uganda-Office of the Prime Minister. Nutrition Advocacy and Communication Strategy for the Uganda Nutrition Action Plan 2015–2019. 2015; October.

Lubogo D, Orach CG. Stakeholder perceptions of research options to improve nutritional status in Uganda. BMC Nutr. 2016:2.

East, Central and Southern Africa Health Community. Regional model nutrition curriculum for frontline health workers. 2017. http://ecsahc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Regional-Model-Curriculum-VersionF.pdf . Accessed 21 Nov 2018.

Dieleman M, Harnmeijer, Willem J. Improving Health Workforce Performance: In search of Promising Practices. Geneva, Switzerland; 2006. https://www.mendeley.com/viewer/?fileId=58e7a9da-672d-fe85-711b-dad1950d1686&documentId=678584df-e593-366c-a1cd-0d5367546fc8 .

Accreditation Council For Education in Nutrition and Dietetics. Essential Practice Competencies for the Commission on Dietetic Registrations Credentialed Nutrition and Dietetics Practitioners. 2015. https://admin.cdrnet.org/vault/2459/web/files/FINAL-CDR_Competency.pdf . Accessed 5 Apr 2016.

European Federation of the Associations of Dietitians (EFAD). Revised Dietetic Competence and the Six Domains of Dietetic Competency in Europe. 2016. [email protected] . Accessed 21 Nov 2018.

Partnership for Dietetic Education and Practice. The Integrated Competencies for Dietetic Education and Practice. Canada; 2013. http://www.pdep.ca . Accessed 20 Nov 2018.

Dietitians Association of Australia. National Competency Standards for Dietitians in Australia. 2015. https://daa.asn.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/NCS-Dietitians-Australia-with-guide-1.0.pdf . Accessed 20 Nov 2018.

Dietitians Board. Professional Competencies and Standards for Dietitians. Wellington, New Zealand; 2017. http://www.dietitiansboard.org.nz/Portals/12/Professional Standards and Competencies for Dietitians Web Version.pdf?ver=2018-02-19-113748-127. Accessed 21 Nov 2018.

British Dietetic Association. Dietetic Support Worker Competency Framework. 2018. https://www.bda.uk.com/publications/professional/band3framework . Accessed 21 Nov 2018.

British Dietetic Association. Assistant Practitioner Competency Framework. 2018. https://www.bda.uk.com/publications/band4framework . Accessed 21 Nov 2018.

Health Professions Council of South Africa. The Roles and Competencies of the Nutrition Profession in the Well-Being of the South African Population. 2016.

Mumbo HM, Kinaro JW. Assessment of quality and relevance of curricula development in health training institutions: a case study of Kenya. Hum Resour Health. 2015;13.

Smith G, Smith WG. Does gender influence online survey participation?: a record-linkage analysis of university faculty online survey response behavior. 2008. https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/elementary_ed_pub . Accessed 1 Nov 2019.

Download references

Acknowledgments

This publication is part of the doctoral studies in Food, Nutrition, and Dietetics, under the title, “Development and Validation of a Competency-Based Education Model for Strengthening Undergraduate Training in Human Nutrition and Dietetics in Uganda” undertaken by the first author at Kenyatta University, Kenya. The authors thank Kyambogo University courtesy of the African Development Bank Higher Education Science and Technology (HEST) Project and the PEARS Research Grant of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem for funding this research. We thank Dr. Peter Milton Rukundo and Ms. Brenda Shenute Namugumya for their support in providing a preliminary review of the draft manuscript; Mr. John Gachoya and Mr. Fred Branny Lukwago for their support throughout the research process; Ms. Brenda Nassamula and Ms. Namajja Doreen for the dedicated support rendered in data entry, coding, and analysis. Our sincere appreciation is extended to all the HN/HND graduates, academic staff, and the work/internship supervisors that provided valuable feedback based upon which this manuscript was written. The reviewers are greatly appreciated for the valuable comments they provided towards improving this paper.

Financial support for undertaking this study was received from the Kyambogo University African Development Bank Higher Education Science and Technology Project and the PEARS Research Grant from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Funding agencies had no role in influencing any aspect of the study.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Department of Food, Nutrition, and Dietetics, Kenyatta University, P.O Box 43844, Nairobi, Kenya

Peterson Kato Kikomeko, Sophie Ochola & Irene Ogada

Department of Human Nutrition and Home Economics, Kyambogo University, P.O Box, 1 Kyambogo, Kampala, Uganda

Peterson Kato Kikomeko

School of Food Technology, Nutrition and Bioengineering, Makerere University, P.O Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda

Archileo N. Kaaya

Department of Human Nutrition, St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Canada

Irene Ogada

Uganda Martyrs University, Rubaga Campus, Kampala, Uganda

Tracy Lukiya Birungi

Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Mbarara, Uganda

Peace Nakitto

Self Help Africa, Kampala, Uganda

You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

PKK undertook this research for his Ph.D., with SO, ANK, and IO as study supervisors; PN as a research collaborator; and TLB as a research assistant. PKK, SO, IO, ANK, and PN conceived and designed the study. PKK and TLB undertook data collection under the direct supervision of ANK and guidance from SO. All contributed to data analysis and interpretation. PKK drafted the manuscript and all authors contributed to reviewing and giving final approval for the manuscript. The authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Peterson Kato Kikomeko .

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate.

This study received initial approval from the Kenyatta University Graduate School. Ethical approval was obtained from both the Kenyatta University ethical review board under instrument number KU/ERC/Approval/Vol.1 (129) application number PKU/837/1903 and the International Health Sciences University Uganda (now Clarke International University) Ethical Review Board under instrument number IHSU-REC/0077 for the period April 2018 to April 2019 which was consequently renewed under the same instrument number for May 2019 to May 2020. A research permit was obtained from the Uganda National Council of Science and Technology under reference number HS206ES for May 2018 to May 2019.

All study respondents were provided a detailed consent form explaining the purpose of the study, this form was sent together with the email as an attachment, or printed copies of the consent form were put together with the questionnaire and delivered to the respondents. By responding to the emailed questionnaire, participants were considered to have consented to the study.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

Additional file 1: supplemental file 1.

-HN-HND Graduates Consent FormR3

Additional file 2: Supplemental File 2-

Questionnaire for HN-HND GraduatesR3

Additional file 3: Supplemental File 3-

Questionnaire for Academic StaffsR3

Additional file 4: Supplemental File 4-

Questionnaire for SupervisorsR3

Additional file 5: Supplemental File 5-

Consent for Academic staffs-SupervisorsR3

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ( http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ ) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Kikomeko, P.K., Ochola, S., Kaaya, A.N. et al. Stakeholders’ perceptions of the nutrition and dietetics needs and the requisite professional competencies in Uganda: a cross-sectional mixed methods study. BMC Health Serv Res 21 , 92 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-06090-3

Download citation

Received : 11 May 2020

Accepted : 14 January 2021

Published : 27 January 2021

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-06090-3

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

Competency-based education
Human nutrition and dietetics
Health systems

BMC Health Services Research

ISSN: 1472-6963

General enquiries: [email protected]

research proposal on nutrition and dietetics

How It Works
PhD thesis writing
Master thesis writing
Bachelor thesis writing
Dissertation writing service
Dissertation abstract writing
Thesis proposal writing
Thesis editing service
Thesis proofreading service
Thesis formatting service
Coursework writing service
Research paper writing service
Architecture thesis writing
Computer science thesis writing
Engineering thesis writing
History thesis writing
MBA thesis writing
Nursing dissertation writing
Psychology dissertation writing
Sociology thesis writing
Statistics dissertation writing
Buy dissertation online
Write my dissertation
Cheap thesis
Cheap dissertation
Custom dissertation
Dissertation help
Pay for thesis
Pay for dissertation
Senior thesis
Write my thesis

248 Popular Nutrition Research Topics That You Can Write About

A balanced diet can make you more productive in your tasks each day. However, how sure are you that the diet that you take is what is required? If you are doing a course in Nutrition and Dietetics, you need to do thorough research. There are certain steps you need to take before diving into the research work.

Characteristics Of A Good Nutritional Research Paper Topic

To prosper in your research, you need to find an ideal topic that won’t be too stressful for you.

Clarity of the topic: If you want to write a great nutritional research paper. The topic needs to be clear. This will make it easy to do the research and also others to understand what you are doing. It should be something common that people will be interested in, even taking part in the research or reading it. Well-defined research paper: The research paper topic needs to be well-phrased for successful research. The topic needs to be direct. So that even when someone tries to read it, they can conclude what the research should bring out. Simple language: If you want to prosper in your nutritional research. Just ensure that you use simple language that most people can understand. You are writing research so that people can benefit from it. There is no need to use too much complex language that won’t help anyone. Simple title: The title should follow the right procedure. It should be written perfectly. Also, ensure that your research aligns with your nutritional research topic. In the case that you want to research various used chemicals, try and stick to the topic as it is. The work: Ensure your research paperwork has an introduction, body, and conclusion. This is critical for any essay, research paper, or assignment

Nutrition Research Topics

Different farming practices lead to low or high production. The amount of food that you are consuming can have an impact on your overall weight. Here are some of the best nutrition research topics that you can start with.

Evaluate some of the most common abdominal fat and health risks.
The major causes of adolescent and childhood obesity or weight gain.
The high risks of obesity in children. Which ingredients should be avoided?
Evaluate the most common allergies and food sensitivities.
The importance of maintaining child nutrition and health.
Evaluate the digestive diseases and associated disorders
Evaluate the disordered eating habits in different age groups.
The best way to promote healthy eating and physical activity.
The best intervention that can be put in place is to reduce obesity.
Evaluate the best way to increase fruit and vegetable intake in different households.
How can diabetes be reduced in different age groups?
The best intervention ways to increase fruit and vegetable intake in the elderly.
The best way to provide good nutrition is in rural public schools.
Does coffee consumption help in stress reduction?

Informative Nutrition Topics to Write About

You need to provide high-quality work when submitting the research work to your professor. Here are some of the best informative nutrition topics to write about. You can even get some details in other scholarly articles.

The impact of cooperative extension in diabetes education and how to carry out self-care.
The common perceptions of students who eat organic food to health.
The relation between BMI and waist circumference in health indications.
The link between environment and dietary intake among rural teens.
The relationship between emotional brain formation and weight variation.
Factors that need to be considered when mothers are breastfeeding.
The common reasons for low fidelity to education programs in patients with gestational diabetes.
The best approaches to take when maintaining weight loss.
The eating habits disorders among athletes.
Evaluate the diet quality of university students.
Evaluate celiac disease in individuals.
The various perceptions about school feeding programs.
The impact of obesity on the health of individuals.
How can the media be used in providing nutrition education for individuals?

In-Depth Nutrition Research Paper Topics

If you want to write an amazing research paper, make use of the various resources. You can even get relevant information from documentaries, scholarly articles, books, pdf, and much more.

The relation between cigarette consumption and weight loss.
The perceptions of nutritional screening tools for the elderly.
The effectiveness of school welfare policies.
The parental perception of the nutritional status of children that have autism.
The major causes of stress eating among the youth.
The relation between healthy food and mental health issues.
The relation between sleep and nutrition.
How healthy eating impacts athletes’ performance.
The impact of breakfast on someone’s productivity during the day.
How social media impacts students’ dietary choices.
The benefits of superfoods to our bodies.
The rising popularity of the paleo diet.
The major causes of various food addictions
The relation between diet and someone’s moods.

Comprehensive Nutrition Research Questions

Are you looking for the best comprehensive nutrition research questions? You can start with these. They are also not that hard to understand.

Which are the genetics that causes obesity?
How do children’s eating disorders impact children’s dietary choices?
The best way to prevent chronic diseases is through better food culture choices?
Do you think overhydration is worse than dehydration? Give reasons
Which are the major impacts of social media on women’s body image?
Which is the relationship between hormones and nutrition?
What are the risk considerations of the keto diet?
Which are the best methods for improving physical fitness?
Are the dietary fats good or bad?
Which are the major roles of proteins in weight loss?
How do diet trends affect human health?
Do you think fasting can help in weight loss?
Which are the bad eating habits that cause disorders?
How to ensure proper nutrient intake in our day-to-day lives?

Interesting Nutrition Topics

Would you want some of the most interesting nutritional topics? Start with these! They are all based on common things that happen that you can easily relate to.

The role of creatine in improving athlete’s performance.
How a mother’s diet impacts the breast milk quality.
The major symptoms of malnutrition among kids.
The components that make GMO food.
The major effects of thermal processing on nutrients.
The factors that contribute to obesity among students.
The various dietary differences between different income level households.
The major foods that boost serotonin levels.
The connection between the immune system and diet.
The development of ketosis.
The component found incomplete proteins.
The different functions of minerals and vitamins.
The negative effects of too many vitamins.
The transformation of carbohydrates to energy.

Engaging Nutrition Topics For Presentation

Is your assignment meant to be made as a presentation? These are some of the best topics that you can use. They are all diverse and you will get all the required answers on books, pdfs, or any other credible source.

How does nutrition impact one’s connective tissue strength?
The major advantages and disadvantages of fats in our bodies.
How do lipids make a meal feel satisfying?
The difference between saturated and unsaturated fatty acids.
The interrelations between vitamins and other food components.
The influence of nutrition on hormones.
The consequences of zinc deficiency on our bodies.
The nutrients that help to improve your skin and hair.
The function of amino acids on our bodies.
Do you think you could survive on dietary supplements only?
Compare the effectiveness of gummy vitamins and pills.
The various ways that the body produces vitamin D from sunlight.
The reasons behind more women suffering from anemia than men.
What influences the presence of minerals in food?

Engaging Nutrition Essay Topics

Taking a balanced diet can help prevent you from getting these common nutritional diseases. Would you want to know more? Try any of these nutrition essay topics.

Is there a difference between the health benefits of white and brown bread?
The major benefits of cereals in our meals.
The best substitutes for white sugar.
The nutrients found in fresh and dried fruit.
The versatile uses of coconuts and benefits to our bodies.
Comparison between white and red meat.
What components are in sugar that make it a good preservative?
How does milk help in strong bone development in children?
The pasteurization process of milk.
Meat is a staple food in most cultures.
The chemical compounds found in margarine and butter.
The healthier alternatives to coffee.
Does taking a glass of wine daily have health benefits at all?
The major causes of hangovers in individuals.

Nutrition-Related Topics

What is the kind of food that you take? Are they beneficial to your body? These are some of the best nutrition-related topics that you can ever come across.

The impact of food safety in different institutions
Evaluation of nutrition in preschools for children.
The positive and negative effects of training and nutrition on football players.
The nursing habits of college-age students.
The major effects of caffeine in tea and coffee that you take.
The importance of eating a variety of foods.
The most energizing foods for a healthy body.
The major characteristics of multiple grain types.
The factors that impact mineral absorption.
The myth and facts behind the food pyramid.
The major foods that belong to the legumes food groups.
The advantages of taking various milk types.
The importance of glucose on our bodies. How often should we take glucose?
The major effects of selenium on health.

Nutrition Topics for Research

Research should be done systematically. First, you need to plan out how you are going to carry out the research. After you are done, be sure to start your research using different resources.

The health benefits of non-digestible compounds.
The major causes of lactose intolerance.
Why is there an increase in eating disorders among female athletes?
Which is the amount of protein that you need for muscle development?
Do you think the time you eat is equally as important as what you eat?
What is the importance of knowing your BMI?
Evaluate whether the best way to overcome unhealthy emotional relationships is with food.
How sleep regulates leptin levels in the body.
The major causes of the prevalence of diabetes among college students.
What are the major benefits of gummy vitamins?
The various beliefs are accustomed to whole grains.
The trends of breast cancer among women.
Evaluate the various environmental contaminants globally.
Why do you think people opt to be vegetarians?

Nutrition Presentation Topics

These are some of the best nutrition presentation topics that you can start with. They are simple, engaging, and straightforward. They will help you to make the best presentation you have ever made.

How can you consider a certain food as being energizing? What criteria are used?
The major characteristics of grains.
The origins of potatoes in the ecosystem.
The health benefits of avocados on our bodies.
How do some foods work as home remedies?
Which are the best ways to prepare scrambled eggs to ensure they provide full nutritional benefits.
The impact of globalization on our diet.
The different diet adaptations in different seasons.
The positive impact of breast milk on infants.
The dietary requirements for someone with HIV/AIDS.
The best food to take when you want to lose weight.
The major consequences of malnutrition.
The major causes of celiac diseases.
The advantages of organic food consumption.
Can alcohol be considered to be part of a healthy diet?

Nutrition Topics For College Students

Are you in college and wondering where you will get the best nutritional topics for your course using? All these topics are ideal for that.

The process of energy production from food nutrients in our bodies.
Make a comparison of the heterotrophs and autotrophs feeding behavior.
How is food converted to simpler substances in the body?
The duration in which animals can convert complex food substances into simpler ones.
How are proteins broken down in the body to be beneficial?
How blood carries nutrients in the body.
How high cholesterol levels can lead to body issues
The importance of diet supplements to busy people.
How does the body use electrolytes in the body?
How certain diets expose people to cancer.
Which is the best way to modify a diet to combat a certain disease?
The role of nutritional knowledge in making informed decisions.
The major causes of chronic diseases in human beings.
The negative effects of depression on nutrition.

Engaging Topics In Nutrition

Nutrition is quite advanced. Both harmful and beneficial foods should be taken in moderation. These are some of the best engaging topics in nutrition.

Which foods lubricate body joints?
The importance of fats in hormone production in the body.
Why do different fats have varying impacts on people’s bodies?
The major roles of unsaturated fats in the body.
The role of fats in preserving the health and brain development in humans
The negative effects of being a vegetarian for too long.
How does taking too much sugar cause diabetes?
The major causes of allergies on people with health conditions?
The importance of eating fiber-rich foods.
What amount of water do adults have in their bodies
The relation between eating and sleeping habits.
How taking sugary foods leads to loss of memory and inactivity?
How taking too many snacks is not healthy for the body?

Food and Nutrition Essay Topics

Are you planning to do an essay? These are some of the best food and nutrition essay topics that you will ever stumble upon. Always strive to eat a healthy diet at all times.

The long and short-term effects of food on our health.
How does water absorption occur in the body?
Does weather impact the amount of water we can take in a day?
The influence of weather on digestion.
The negative influence of fast food selling hotels on some lifestyle diseases.
The major determinants on whether an animal feeds on simple or complex inorganic compounds.
How are nutrients converted into minerals?
When should someone use a nutrient supplement?
The impact of alcohol intake by pregnant women.
Why do pregnant women crave different food?
The necessary nutrients after doing a hard workout.
The role of carbohydrates in an athlete’s body.
The importance of energy management on brain development
The importance of calcium to sportsmen and women.
How good nutrition maintains a great athletics record.

Research Topics in Nutrition and Dietetics

When doing your thesis, you need to do thorough research to ensure that your professor will give you top grades. If you are doing a dietetics course, these topics will serve the purpose.

How athletes can easily manage hunger cues.
The role of Vitamins to people that engage in sports.
The effect of chili on our bodies.
Which are the best ways to deal with obesity?
The disadvantages of obesity on children below 18 years.
The social and economic effects of poor nutrition.
How is healthy aging important for active aging?
How nutrition determines the body’s immunity.
The best way to make nutrition reforms & policies for the benefit of residents in different regions.
The role of proteins in sustainability and health.
The negative and positive impact of moods on eating well.
The role of nutrition in determining a body’s immunity.
Does ingredient dosage matter in food and nutrition?
The role of misinformation on unhealthy eating habits.
The myths related to plant-based proteins.

Ideal Nutrition Thesis Topics

When given a writing task, it can be hard to know where to start. However, teachers don’t quite require a lot from students. Just try to do what you can and give it your best shot.

The best eating habits that you can embrace.
The difference between red and white meat.
Evaluate the milk pasteurization process.
The advantages of milk consumption every morning.
The various beneficial components found in milk.
What are the best foods that the elderly should take?
How eating patterns affect the sleeping pattern.
The major causes of different eating patterns.
The effects of homemade food and intuitive eating habits.
The nutritional problems for pregnant women.
The relation between income and nutrition.
The major evidence-based nutrition.
Evaluate nutrition and blood pressure.
The advantages of organic food consumption

Health and Nutrition Topics

Our health plays a huge role in how effective we can be on different tasks. If you are fatigued or hungry, it can have adverse effects on your body.

How is nutritional profiling used?
The point of counting calories found in the body.
The major health benefits of vitamin water.
Why does the younger and older generation require different nutrition?
The major methods of projects that promote proper nutrition.
The relation between diet and one’s moods.
The major causes of teenagers developing an unhealthy attitude towards food.
The role of hunger and control in anorexia.
How malnutrition can cause an issue with an unborn child.
How poor eating habits lead to physical conditions.
The best way to maintain an active lifestyle for proper health.
The biological factors surrounding eating disorders.

Sports Nutrition Topics for Research

These are some best sports nutrition topics for research that you can start with. You can use them for your homework, assignment, thesis, or dissertation.

How different food varieties help athletes.
The role of carbohydrates in the mental development of athletes.
Explain the water cycle in an athlete’s diet.
Why do athletes need calcium?
How does trans-fat affect an athlete’s performance?
The importance of supplements in the diet.
How supplements and diets help in weight management.
What capacity of food should athletes eat before and after training?
The amount of water athletes should take before and after running.

Requiring Help With Your Nutrition Dissertation?

Are you looking for the most ideal writing service assistance? We provide nothing but the best. We have expert writers that will ensure you get custom work at an affordable price. All the planning is done online to ensure your work is delivered on time. Whether you are in university or college, these topics will help you.

Nutrition and Dietetics

/ Undergraduate /

Start date:

September 2025

Entry tariff:

112–120 UCAS points (or equivalent)

Combine scientific knowledge with practical skills, enabling you to interpret nutrition science and promote health by offering personalised advice. You'll be prepared to tackle global health challenges and enhance wellbeing through nutrition.

Did you know.

This is a three year programme, with teaching and placements over the summer.

You may be eligible for an NHS Learning Support Fund (LSF) of £5,000 per academic year.

Top 6 in London for Nutrition and Health

(Complete University Guide 2023)

Top 3 modern university in London

(Complete University Guide 2025)

#1 modern university in the UK for Research

Research Excellence Framework

This is a new course for September 2025. More details regarding modules will be added shortly. Please contact us if you have any questions.

Principles of Human Nutrition and Food Science
Applied Biochemistry and Physiology
Psychology and Sociology for Nutrition and Behavior Change
Professional Skills for Dietitians
Practice Based Learning
Introduction to Human Disease
Nutrition of Population Groups & Clinical Nutrition
Public Health and Health Promotion
Transforming Health and Social Care Assessment in Practice
Practice Based Learning
Pathophysiology and Psychophysiology
Evidence Based Medicine and Research Methods
Dietetic Practice
Dissertation

Make a difference to human lives with a degree in Nutrition and Dietetics.

Pending approval from the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and the British Dietetic Association (BDA), this course is designed to equip you with the knowledge and skills needed to pursue a sustainable career in the health sector.

You’ll gain a strong foundation to be a confident practitioner in the 4 pillars of practice which are:

Dietetic practice
Evidence-based practice
Dietitians as a nutrition and dietetic resource
Leadership and Management

Experience a dynamic, contemporary curriculcum in state-of-the-art facilities.

You will undertake activities to develop your ability to critically appraise and apply theory through case-based learning, simulation and on practice placements.

The programme will integrate university-led modules with practice-based learning in simulated learning environments and external placements.

Roehampton has a long-standing and international reputation for offering undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in nutrition. We are committed to shared/interprofessional learning, which is based on the belief that by learning together, you will better understand each other’s practice and work more effectively within a multidisciplinary team. This leads to a coherent and person-centered approach to care.

You will:

Participate in practice-based learning integrated with opportunities for research
Use our state-of-the-art facilities including the food laboratory and clinical simulation suite.

You may be expected to pay additional costs for:

Travel to placements
Clothes and footwear (adhering to the dress code policy for placement)

Push yourself further with real-world assignments

Throughout your course, you’ll experience a wide range of assessments that enhance your understanding and practical skills, while giving you a taste of industry practices.

practical assessments
case-study based assessments
oral presentations
self-reflections
peer assessment
in class tests
placements

You’ll leave Roehampton with an in-depth understanding of both the theory and hand-on applications of dietetics, ready to take the next step.

Shape the future of public health

If you're ready to learn, we'll help you gain the confidence and opportunities to achieve.

Our graduates work in a range of settings, most notably within the NHS/health care industries, typically in the following areas:

NHS hospital and community clinics
Private hospitals
Care homes
Health care clinics
Food industry
GP surgeries
Gyms and sports clubs
Media
Patients’ or Clients’ homes
Prisons/prison services
Schools
Universities

Our Careers team is on hand to help from the start of your studies until after you graduate. Under their guidance you’ll benefit from a wide range of support, including:

CV building
Interview preparation
Mentoring
Industry connections
Work experience
Volunteering opportunities
Job fairs
Introductions to future employers.

Get a real taste of our campus, community and what it’s like to study at Roehampton

Full-time UK undergraduate students apply through UCAS.

Course subject to curriculum review and validation.

Entry tariff

We welcome applications from students studying T Levels .

For all courses we also accept a wide range of other qualifications and experience. Contact us to find out more .

When we consider applications to study with us, we form a complete view of your achievements to date, and future potential, and can offer flexibility in entry requirements. Find out more about our Contextual Offer scheme .

Specific entry requirements

Applicants will usually have qualifications in biology and chemistry at advanced level where learners take A-Levels. Candidates are expected to have GCSE at Grade 4 or above in English, Mathematics and a Science or equivalent qualifications.

If English is not the first language, all applicants must be able to communicate in English to level 7 of the International English Language Testing System, with no element below 6.5. Students must undergo health screening to assess fitness to begin the course. Students must also complete an approved programme of immunisation, as recommended by the Department of Health. They must have full disclosure and the barring service screen prior to enrolment. Students must declare any criminal convictions, cautions, and bindings over when requested during the application and interview process.

General entry requirements

UK students

Additional entry requirements

Applicants will need to demonstrate evidence of interest and some work experience in a relevant field and will also need to supply a satisfactory enhanced DBS check.
Applicants must undergo health screening to assess their fitness to begin the course.
Applicants must also complete an approved programme of immunisation, as recommended by the Department of Health.
All applicants will undertake a values-based interview.

September 2024 entry tuition fees

Year one fees

UK: £9,250

We offer a wide range of scholarships and bursaries. See our 2024 financial support pages for UK students .

We also provide other ways to support the cost of living, including free buses and on-campus car parking, hardship support and some of the most affordable student accommodation and catering in London. Find out more about how we can support you .

International undergraduate students apply through our direct application system.

Course subject to curriculum review and validation.

Applicants will usually have qualifications in biology and chemistry at advanced level where learners take A-Levels (or equivalent). Candidates are expected to have GCSE at Grade 4 or above in English, Mathematics and a Science or equivalent qualifications.

International students

Additional entry requirements:

EU and International: £15,750

We offer a wide range of scholarships and bursaries. See our 2024 financial support pages for international students .

Need help or advice before applying?

Life and health sciences, join our diverse life and health sciences community, whose leading academics are dedicated to understanding and improving the living world through ground-breaking advances in scientific research. .

Student life

Student support

Find out more about the School

Sport and Exercise Sciences

Next entry: Sept 2024 • 3 years (full-time), 4 years (full-time) with placement, 4 years (full-time) with Foundation Year entry

Nutrition and Health

Law and Politics

Next entry: Sept 2024 • 3 years (full-time), 4 years (full-time) with placement year, 4 years (full-time) with foundation year

Current vacancies
Application support
Visa information
Working at Bath
What we offer
Our culture
Our purpose
Terms of Use
Frequently Asked Questions
Create a job alert
Terms and Conditions
Departments
Current vacancies
Application support
Working at Bath
What we offer
Log In

Job title Research Associate in Nutrition and Metabolism

Department Department for Health

Salary Starting from £37,099, rising to £44,263

Grade Grade 7

Contract Type Full Time, Fixed Term

Placed on Tuesday 03 September 2024

Closing date Sunday 22 September 2024

Interview date Thursday 10 October 2024

Reference CH12019

Applicant Visa Guidance Skilled Worker visa: guidance for applicants (bath.ac.uk)

About the role

We are looking to appoint a Post-Doctoral Research Associate to work on the KETO-GENETIC research project funded by The Medical Research Council, investigating the effects of very-low carbohydrate (ketogenic) diets and ketone supplements on obesity-associated disease risk.

The project will combine a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) with comprehensive phenotyping of the circulation and of peripheral tissues using state of the art omics approaches, and link these to long-term disease risk using Mendelian randomisation.

The Research Associate will join a vibrant team of other Post-Doctoral Research Associates and PhD students with complementary skills to achieve the overall project goals. You will be working in the Centre for Nutrition, Exercise and Metabolism , on the main campus at the University of Bath, in collaboration with the University of Bristol, Imperial College London, and University of Cambridge.

You will gain experience in techniques related human nutrition and metabolism, such as controlled feeding and randomised controlled trials, indirect calorimetry, blood biochemistry and peripheral tissue (e.g., adipose and skeletal muscle) handling and analyses. In addition, you will have the opportunity to learn/develop expertise in RNAseq and proteomics sample preparation and bioinformatic analysis.

There will also be the opportunity to develop skills in undertaking genetic epidemiological analyses in collaboration with Bristol. Supervision will be provided by Professor Javier Gonzalez , Dr Emma Vincent , Dr James Yarmowlinsky , Dr Francoise Koumanov , and Dr Emma Hazelwood , along with their research teams.

This role is offered on a full time (36.5 hours per week) fixed term basis with an expected duration of 36 months.

As a member of Research Staff at the University of Bath, you will be encouraged to take up a minimum of 10 days professional development pro rata per year

About you

A Ph.D. in a relevant subject such as, Nutrition; Dietetics; Human Metabolism; Human Physiology is essential. Experience of conducting projects of this type would be an advantage, but is not essential as full training will be provided.

About the Department

The Centre for Nutrition, Exercise and Metabolism , based in the Department for Health at the University of Bath is a vibrant community providing excellent facilities and support for teaching and research.

The Department for Health is dedicated to providing a supportive and inclusive environment for staff and students. We hold a Bronze Athena SWAN award in recognition of our ongoing commitment to gender equality and welcome applications from under-represented groups.

For further details, please contact Javier Gonzalez ( [email protected])

What we can offer you:

a very generous employer contributory pension scheme
generous annual leave allowance with an additional 5 discretionary days so that you can enjoy a positive work life balance
we are a family-friendly University and with an increasingly agile workforce, are open to flexible working arrangements
an excellent reward package that recognises the talents of our diverse workforce
a wide range of personal and professional development opportunities
a number of support options available for new and existing staff to help with the cost of some immigration expenses which you may be eligible for: Relocation allowance , Visa Reimbursement , Interest-Free Loan .

Find out more about our benefits .

We consider ourselves to be a university where difference is celebrated, respected and encouraged. We have an excellent international reputation with staff from over 60 different nations and have made a positive commitment towards gender equality and intersectionality receiving a Silver Athena SWAN award . We truly believe that diversity of experience, perspectives, and backgrounds will lead to a better environment for our employees and students, so we encourage applications from all genders, backgrounds, and communities, particularly from under-represented groups, and value the positive impact that will have on the university. We are committed to maintaining a safe and secure environment for our students, staff, and community by reinforcing our Safer Recruitment commitment.

We are very proud to be an autism friendly university and are an accredited Disability Confident Leader ; committed to building disability confidence and supporting disabled staff .

Find out from our staff what makes the University of Bath a great place to work. Follow us @UniofBath and @UniofBathJobs on Twitter for more information.

Email details to a friend

Further details:

Job Description & Person Specification
Terms and Conditions of Employment

Athena Swan, Disability Confident, Armed Forces Covenant, Living Wage Employer awards

We are constantly seeking to reduce the unconscious bias that enters any assessment process, with the goal of creating an inclusive and equal assessment process. To support this, personal details such as your name, may be removed from application forms at the initial shortlisting stage.

Terms of Use
Contact Us
Frequently Asked Questions
Create a job alert
Terms and Conditions

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Publications
Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

Advanced Search
Journal List
HHS Author Manuscripts
PMC11328461

Digital Technology in Nutrition Education and Behavior Change: Opportunities and Challenges

Alexandra l. macmillan uribe.

Institute for Advancing Health Through Agriculture, Texas A&M AgriLife Research

Emily Welker Duffy

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Gillings School of Global Public Health, Department of Nutrition

Basheerah Enahora

Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences, North Carolina State University, NC State Extension

Phrashiah Githinji

Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Institute for Advancing Health through Agriculture

Jared McGuirt

Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina Greensboro

Gina L. Tripicchio

Center for Obesity Research and Education, College of Public Health, Temple University

The incorporation of digital technology (digitech) within nutrition education and behavior change interventions (NEBI) has markedly increased, and COVID-19 rapidly accelerated advancement and acceptability in this area. 1 The proliferation of digitech, including devices and platforms, creates novel ways for end-users to engage with NEBI and presents unique opportunities for increasing reach and engagement of underrepresented populations. 2 - 5 While a “digital divide” exists with some digitech, like desktop/laptop ownership and home broadband internet access, most people own smart phones (≥ 76%) or use social media (≥ 65%), regardless ofincome, race and ethnicity, or age. 6 - 8 Furthermore, digitech can resolve common barriers to NEBI participation (e.g., lack of transportation or time) and can increase NEBI scalability. 9 Prior to developing or adapting NEBI that incorporate digitech, it is important to consider challenges that might impact their effectiveness and approaches that enhance equitable access.

Digitech-specific, evidence-based frameworks are critical for developing effective NEBI. In user-centered design, for example, end users’ needs and preferences are prioritized and used to guide design processes, 10 leading to improved participant engagement and an increased likelihood of an effective intervention. 11 Researchers may also consider implementation process models to guide development and optimize sustained digitech utilization. For example, the Exploration, Adoption/Preparation, Implementation, Sustainment (EPIS) model helps identify whether NEBI-related digitech is feasible, adoptable, and relevant to the intended population. 12 Classic theories, like diffusion of innovation, can also be applied to understand how digitech innovations are adopted. Also, engagement strategies like reminders, coaching, and personalized information 13 are important considerations in NEBI digitech. Digital inequities, such as inconsistent internet access or low digital literacy, disproportionately burden the same populations burdened by diet-related disease inequities. Employing user-centered design and leveraging digitech already adopted by the intended audience (e.g., among Hispanics, 80% use social media and 85% own smartphones) 6 , 8 could help reach populations most at risk of diet-related diseases.

Another key challenge is the financial cost of developing and maintaining digitech. For example, a mobile application with simple features can cost $16,000 to $32,000, not including maintenance and updates. 14 This is coupled with the competition, money, and fast pace of digitech in industry that is often misaligned with the scrutinous, slow pace of research. Rigorous digitech-focused funding mechanisms could help support the development and maintenance of innovations. However, continued funding for maintenance and updates may require further testing or expansion of digitech, as part of additional research proposals. Another strategy is leveraging industry’s financial assets and audience reach through collaborative projects that navigate and consider the often-divergent interests of research and industry.

Ultimately, digitech holds great promise for enhancing NEBI reach and effectiveness, especially to address disparities, and warrants continued investigation by nutrition educators and researchers. The Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior (SNEB) DigiTech Division is well-positioned to lead this charge through educating and connecting SNEB members with NEBI digitech experts and resources. 15 Digitech NEBI can effectively meet the specific needs and preferences of the intended audience, while achieving desired outcomes in nutrition education and behavior change.

Biographies

MacMillan Uribe

Contributor Information

Alexandra L. MacMillan Uribe, Institute for Advancing Health Through Agriculture, Texas A&M AgriLife Research.

Emily Welker Duffy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Gillings School of Global Public Health, Department of Nutrition.

Basheerah Enahora, Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences, North Carolina State University, NC State Extension.

Phrashiah Githinji, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Institute for Advancing Health through Agriculture.

Jared McGuirt, Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina Greensboro.

Gina L. Tripicchio, Center for Obesity Research and Education, College of Public Health, Temple University.

COMMENTS

Research methods in nutrition and dietetics: Design, data analysis, and
Most problems in practice may be addressed through research. To show the applicability of research to all areas of nutrition and dietetics, seven types of research designs are discussed in this article: qualitative research; case series and surveys—both categorized as descriptive research; and experimental design, quasiexperimental design, cohort (follow-up) studies, and case-control studies ...
Research: Successful Approaches in Nutrition and Dietetics
Divided into 10 comprehensive sections, the fourth edition of Research: Successful Approaches in Nutrition and Dietetics is an all-inclusive resource a nutrition researcher is looking for. As one of the few comprehensive books addressing the need of nutrition researchers, this book is highly recommended to researchers of nutrition and dietetics at any stage in their profession, irrespective of ...
Research at the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: What, How, and Why
Research is essential to further advance our understanding of the role of nutrition and dietetics in maintenance and improvement of health. Research is also essential for nutrition and dietetics practitioners to create and provide evidence-based interventions, including medical nutrition therapy provided by registered dietitian nutritionists. Given this critical role of research, the Academy ...
Grants
Grant amount: $1,000. This grant is given for a research project that aims to demonstrate the value of dietetics professionals on the health of the public or demonstrate the evolving role of dietetics professionals in the profession. McCormick Science Institute Research Grant. Grant amount: $10,000.
Using realist approaches in nutrition and dietetics research
2. METHODS. In the interest of trying to summarise how realist research could be useful in nutrition and dietetics, this study employed a targeted literature review and narrative synthesis. 18 Key journals in nutrition and dietetics were identified by the authors as Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, British Journal of Nutrition ...
Research Overview
Research Overview. By making research resources and funding available for Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and its members, the Foundation stimulates innovation and discovery within the dietetics field. Foundation funded research serves to elevate the public's perception of the registered dietitian nutritionist, continuing to position the ...
Research at the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: What, How, and Why?
Although research within and outside of the Academy continues to document the value of nutrition and dietetics prac- titioners in health care and other settings, efforts must continue.53-55. Nutrition and dietetics practitioners must harness their existing skills to actively engage in the research pro- cess.
Perspective: The Evidence-Based Framework in Nutrition and Dietetics
However, nutrition research faces substantial problems when trying to fit this paradigm. Tenets of RCT design, such as blinding of participants and investigators, and use of appropriate controls, are highly problematic in the context of nutrition, particularly studies testing whole foods or diets, when it is not possible to adequately blind ...
Research at the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: What, How, and Why
Accurate appraisal of current research is essential for implementation of effective, evidence-based practice (EBP). 2 In addition, primary research is vital for EBP because it can demonstrate the importance of nutrition and the efficacy of the field of dietetics in improving health outcomes at the individual and community levels. 3, 4, 5 Integration of nutrition and dietetics practitioners ...
Advancing Nutrition and Dietetics Research in Global Food and Nutrition
To conduct this research, nutrition and dietetics practitioners should receive the necessary training to collect, analyze data, and disseminate results validly and reliably. Capacity-building initiatives performed by experienced researchers could assist in this matter, notably, the development of appropriate intervention programs targeting the ...
Top Nutrition Research Paper Topics for Students
Top Nutrition Research Paper Topics for Students
PDF Introduction to Applied Nutrition Research Syllabus
• Research Proposal • Presentation CRDN 1.3 Justify programs, products, services •and care using appropriate evidence or data Research Proposal • Presentation CRDN 1.4 Evaluate emerging research for application in nutrition and dietetics practice •Review of Literature • Research Proposal CRDN 1.5: Conduct projects using appropriate
Research methods in nutrition and dietetics: design, data ...
Abstract. Most problems in practice may be addressed through research. To show the applicability of research to all areas of nutrition and dietetics, seven types of research designs are discussed in this article: qualitative research; case series and surveys--both categorized as descriptive research; and experimental design, quasiexperimental ...
Nutrition research to affect food and a healthy lifespan
Nutrition research to affect food and a healthy lifespan - PMC
PhD, Nutrition and Dietetics
A core component of completing the doctoral degree in Nutrition and Dietetics is writing and defending a dissertation on a relevant research topic of your choosing. You will work closely with faculty mentor (s) throughout the dissertation process to structure and advance the project. Previous graduates have selected a range of topics to explore ...
Nutrition research to affect food and a healthy lifespan
ASN s Nutrition Research Needs focus on the following high priority areas: 1) variability in. individual responses to diet and foods; 2) healthy growth, development, and reproduction; 3) health ...
Frontiers in Nutrition
Research Topics - Frontiers in Nutrition
Stakeholders' perceptions of the nutrition and dietetics needs and the
The nutrition and dietetics interventions requested for, provided, and considered a priority for communities were both nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive. ... (75.8%); communication, education, and counselling (62.1%); medical/clinical nutrition therapy (56.8%); research, proposal, and report writing (52.3%); nutrition screening and ...
Research and the dietetics profession: Making a bigger impact
As the leading source of food and nutrition information, the American Dietetic Association (ADA) is increasingly being asked to testify before Congress or submit comments on proposed regulations and public policy related to nutrition, health, and food issues. ... 70% reported submitting at least one research proposal in the last five years ((8 ...
Theses and Dissertations--Nutrition and Food Systems
Assessing Self-Perceived Nutrition-Related Lifestyle Behaviors and Knowledge of University Music Students Following a Targeted Presentation, Gretchen Trumbo. Theses/Dissertations from 2020 PDF. Evaluation of Kentucky Grown Soft Red Winter Wheat with Sensory Evaluation for Bread-making Capabilities and Quality, Asa Conkwright III. PDF
The Effect of A Nutrition Education Program on Nutrition Knowledge
3. The nutrition intervention will improve body composition. 4. As a result of the nutrition intervention, high school athletes will have a high perceived sport performance. Justification . The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Dietitians of Canada and the American College of Sports Medicine believe that "physical activity, athletic ...
248 Nutrition Research Topics
These are some of the best nutrition-related topics that you can ever come across. The impact of food safety in different institutions. Evaluation of nutrition in preschools for children. The positive and negative effects of training and nutrition on football players. The nursing habits of college-age students.
Nutrition, Food and Diet in Health and Longevity: We Eat What We Are
Nutrition, Food and Diet in Health and Longevity: We Eat ...
Public perceptions of dietetics services in Australia and New Zealand
1 INTRODUCTION. With one in two Australian adults experiencing at least one diet-related chronic disease 1 and with the established health and economic benefits of dietetics care, 2 it is imperative to understand public access to and use of dietitians and alternative services. However, there is limited research on this topic in Australia and New Zealand.
BSc Nutrition and Dietetics
Make a difference to human lives with a degree in Nutrition and Dietetics. Pending approval from the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and the British Dietetic Association (BDA), this course is designed to equip you with the knowledge and skills needed to pursue a sustainable career in the health sector.
CH12019 Research Associate in Nutrition and Metabolism
As a member of Research Staff at the University of Bath, you will be encouraged to take up a minimum of 10 days professional development pro rata per year. About you . A Ph.D. in a relevant subject such as, Nutrition; Dietetics; Human Metabolism; Human Physiology is essential.
Digital Technology in Nutrition Education and Behavior Change
The incorporation of digital technology (digitech) within nutrition education and behavior change interventions (NEBI) has markedly increased, and COVID-19 rapidly accelerated advancement and acceptability in this area. 1 The proliferation of digitech, including devices and platforms, creates novel ways for end-users to engage with NEBI and presents unique opportunities for increasing reach ...

Login to your account

Research: Successful Approaches in Nutrition and Dietetics

Get full text access

Article metrics

Society Member Access

Academic & Personal

Extra CSS for Foundation in the Code

Foundation Fellowships

Second Century Member Campaign Research Projects and Events

Transitions of Care Technical Implementation Guide

Second Century Member Campaign Research Project Spotlight: AAIM – Academy and ASPEN Indicators to Diagnose Malnutrition Study

Evidence Analysis Center Research Projects

Adult Weight Management

Celiac Disease

Energy Expenditure

Nutritional Genomics/Personalized Nutrition

Type 1 Diabetes In Children

Malnutrition in Older Adults (Community and Long Term Care)

Vegetarian Nutrition

Collaboration to Advance our Profession

RESTORE Study

ANDHII Breast Feeding Registry Study

AUGmeNT Study: Assessing Uptake and Impact Of Guidelines For Clinical Practice In Renal Nutrition

The State of Food and Nutrition Series

Annual Research Fund

Research Endowment

Named Research Funds

Community Tags

Top Nutrition Research Paper Topics for Students

Nutrition Research Topics for College Students

Interesting Nutrition Topics for Research Paper

Research Topics in Nutrition and Dietetics

Sports Nutrition Topics for Research

Nutritional Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Advances in Food Technology and Biotechnology

Emerging Topics in Nutrition and Health

Innovations in Food and Dietary Patterns

Climate Change and Nutrition Research Topics

Other Popular Nutrition Paper Topics

Readers also enjoyed

WHY WAIT? PLACE AN ORDER RIGHT NOW!

Save citation to file

Add to My Bibliography

Research methods in nutrition and dietetics: design, data analysis, and presentation

Similar articles

Publication types

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources

Search NYU Steinhardt

Doctor of Philosophy Nutrition and Dietetics

Degree Details

Research Topics

Research Spotlight

Funding for Full-Time PhD Students

Nutrition and Food Studies

Follow Our Department!

Nutrition research to affect food and a healthy lifespan

Stakeholders’ perceptions of the nutrition and dietetics needs and the requisite professional competencies in Uganda: a cross-sectional mixed methods study

Conclusions

Study design and setting

Participant selection

Academic staffs that train HN/HND

HN/HND work/internship supervisors

Study instruments

Researcher standpoint

Data analysis

Demographic, training, and occupational characteristics of the study respondents

Academic staff and work/internship supervisors

Stakeholders’ perceptions of the nutrition and dietetics challenges faced by communities

Stakeholders’ perceptions of the nutrition and dietetics services requested for and provided to communities

Stakeholders’ perceptions of the nature of work and job roles performed by practicing HN/HND graduates

Stakeholders’ perceptions of the knowledge and skills required of HN/HND graduates in Uganda

Observations from the stakeholder validation workshop

Study implications

Limitations

Availability of data and materials

Abbreviations

Acknowledgments

Author information

Contributions