Sarybay Umit, Kabibolla Samal, Adilmetova Gulnoza, Nassyrov Ruslan, Meyerbekova Aizhan, Sarría-Santamera Antonio, Yergaliyev Kuanysh A, Chan Mei-Yen
Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Astana, Kazakhstan.
Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Astana, Kazakhstan.
BMJ Nutr Prev Health. 2025 Mar 28;8(1):e000972. doi: 10.1136/bmjnph-2024-000972. eCollection 2025.
Nutrition is a critical component of healthcare, with healthcare professionals playing a pivotal role in encouraging proper nutrition care among patients. Consequently, it is imperative for all healthcare professionals to have proficiency in nutrition relevant to the prevention and treatment of diseases. This study, to the best of the author's knowledge, is the first study to examine the current level of nutrition competencies among health professionals and medical students in Kazakhstan, as well as the factors influencing these competencies. The findings may potentially help to inform future clinical nutrition educational strategies and improve health outcomes in the region.
This cross-sectional study surveyed 200 healthcare professionals in Kazakhstan via a 17-item questionnaire adapted from the NUTrition COMPetence tool, which assesses the self-perceived competence of primary health professionals in providing nutrition care, particularly for patients with chronic diseases. It measures several dimensions of competence, including confidence in nutrition knowledge, skills and counselling, and has established reliability and validity. Recruitment was conducted using convenience and snowball sampling methods. Fisher's exact test was used for statistical analysis to identify significant associations.
Most healthcare professionals self-reported their nutrition knowledge as 'average' (52.7%) or 'good' (29.5%). Although 40.2% felt 'somewhat confident' and 27.6% felt 'very confident' in applying this knowledge clinically, half indicated they 'rarely' provide nutrition care. Additionally, the current study found that nutrition education received before entering practice was strongly linked to participants' current level of nutrition knowledge (p=0.011).
The gap between self-reported knowledge and practical application suggests barriers to integrating clinical nutrition education into practice. The quality of nutrition education received during medical training is crucial for shaping current competencies, highlighting the necessity for improved nutrition education in healthcare training programmes.
营养是医疗保健的关键组成部分，医疗保健专业人员在鼓励患者接受适当的营养护理方面发挥着关键作用。因此，所有医疗保健专业人员都必须精通与疾病预防和治疗相关的营养知识。据作者所知，本研究是第一项调查哈萨克斯坦卫生专业人员和医学生当前营养能力水平以及影响这些能力的因素的研究。研究结果可能有助于为未来的临床营养教育策略提供信息，并改善该地区的健康状况。
这项横断面研究通过一份改编自营养能力工具的包含17个条目的问卷，对哈萨克斯坦的200名医疗保健专业人员进行了调查，该问卷评估了初级卫生专业人员在提供营养护理，特别是对慢性病患者提供营养护理方面的自我感知能力。它测量了能力的几个维度，包括对营养知识、技能和咨询的信心，并已建立了可靠性和有效性。采用便利抽样和滚雪球抽样方法进行招募。使用Fisher精确检验进行统计分析以确定显著关联。
大多数医疗保健专业人员自我报告他们的营养知识为“一般”（52.7%）或“良好”（29.5%）。尽管40.2%的人在临床应用这些知识时感到“有些自信”，27.6%的人感到“非常自信”，但有一半的人表示他们“很少”提供营养护理。此外，当前研究发现，进入实践前接受的营养教育与参与者当前的营养知识水平密切相关（p=0.011）。
自我报告的知识与实际应用之间的差距表明将临床营养教育融入实践存在障碍。医学培训期间接受的营养教育质量对于塑造当前的能力至关重要，这突出了在医疗培训计划中改进营养教育的必要性。
