Felton Teena M, Nickols-Richardson Sharon M, Serrano Elena, Hosig Kathy W
Department of Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, USA.
J Am Diet Assoc. 2008 Jul;108(7):1192-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jada.2008.04.022.
African-American professionals are underrepresented in the profession of dietetics. This preliminary qualitative study identified African-American students' perceptions of their majors, future professions, and the dietetics major/profession to understand why they did or did not enter dietetics. It was hypothesized that dietetics students chose dietetics primarily for altruistic reasons, whereas students in other fields of study did not choose dietetics due to lack of awareness of dietetics. To learn students' views, African-American college students engaged in elicitation interviews or focus group discussions. Twenty-eight women and 12 men participated. Phenomenologic analysis identified common themes and meanings: African-American students selected their majors for a variety of reasons, including desire to help people, interest in the field, recommendation from an adult, and family influence. African-American students in fields of study other than dietetics believed that the dietetics major was not selected due to lack of awareness about dietetics. Both dietetics students and students in other fields of study perceived versatility, ability to work with/help people, and to have an influence as positive qualities about their future professions. Advanced degree and training requirements, lack of diversity, and low salary were identified as negative qualities about future professions. African-American students in fields of study other than dietetics had not been exposed to the dietetics major, careers, and profession. Recruitment efforts should begin early to increase the number of African-American students in dietetics.
非裔美国专业人士在营养学领域的代表性不足。这项初步的定性研究确定了非裔美国学生对其专业、未来职业以及营养学专业/职业的看法，以了解他们为何选择或未选择进入营养学领域。研究假设，营养学专业的学生选择该专业主要是出于利他主义原因，而其他学科领域的学生则因对营养学缺乏了解而未选择该专业。为了了解学生的观点，研究人员对非裔美国大学生进行了启发式访谈或焦点小组讨论。共有28名女性和12名男性参与。现象学分析确定了共同的主题和意义：非裔美国学生选择专业的原因多种多样，包括帮助他人的愿望、对该领域的兴趣、成年人的推荐以及家庭影响。非营养学领域的非裔美国学生认为，由于对营养学缺乏了解，所以没有选择营养学专业。营养学专业的学生和其他学科领域的学生都认为，通用性、与他人合作/帮助他人的能力以及产生影响是他们未来职业的积极品质。高学历和培训要求、缺乏多样性以及低薪被认为是未来职业的负面品质。非营养学领域的非裔美国学生此前未接触过营养学专业、职业和行业。应尽早开展招募工作，以增加非裔美国学生在营养学领域的人数。
