Strategies for nutritional counseling. Dietitians' attitudes and practice.

Responses to a questionnaire distributed to forty-four Midwest dietitians during the development of a program to train dietitians in patient counseling strategies are summarized. Dietitians rated forty-five strategies, divided into five broad categories: Instructional, motivational, behavioral, educational diagnosis, and assessment of compliance. Questions about each strategy included reported use, perceived benefits, and perceived barriers to implementation. Six nutritional consultants rated the relative innovativeness of the strategies. The results provide evidence that strategies currently being developed for training dietitians are compatible with dietetic practice, are often viewed favorably by practitioners, and are "teachable" to nutritionists.