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Five‐year survey of W ellington practice nurses delivering dietary advice to people with type 2 diabetes
Author(s) -
Parry Strong Amber,
Lyon Julia,
Stern Katherine,
Vavasour Claudia,
Milne Jan
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
nutrition and dietetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.479
H-Index - 31
eISSN - 1747-0080
pISSN - 1446-6368
DOI - 10.1111/1747-0080.12049
Subject(s) - feeling , medicine , nutrition education , nursing , family medicine , psychology , gerontology , social psychology
Aim The aim of this study was to survey practice nurses in 2007 and 2012 to ascertain whether they are adequately equipped with knowledge, skills and resources, to provide nutrition education to people with type 2 diabetes in the Wellington region. Methods A self‐administered questionnaire was posted to 151 practice nurses in 2007 and a revised questionnaire to 150 practice nurses in 2012. Results Practice nurses continue to provide most of the dietary advice in general practices. Changes over the 5‐year period saw more nurses educating on hypoglycaemia, carbohydrate and alcohol. In most cases, appropriate resources are being used, with D iabetes NZ being the most popular source of patient resources. The number of nurses assessing the patients' diet and feeling confident in giving dietary education may have decreased over the 5‐year period. Conclusions Areas that could be addressed in future training sessions include giving culturally specific dietary advice, quick nutrition assessment skills, simple nutrition education techniques and ways to support patients to lose weight.