Nutrition knowledge, attitudes and practices among senior medical students in Taiwan.

OBJECTIVE

Nutrition is an important issue in medical training, but the nutritional knowledge, attitudes and practices of medical students in Taiwan have not been elucidated.

METHODS

This investigation was a need assessment that examined knowledge, attitude and practices of medical students in selected areas of nutrition. A national sample of 528 senior medical students from nine medical colleges in Taiwan participated in this study by completing a questionnaire.

RESULTS

On a 10-point scale, the average score of students on general and clinical nutritional knowledge was 5.99 +/- 1.51 and 5.15 +/- 1.77, respectively. The percentage of correct answers from questionnaires in both areas was 60% and 52%, respectively. Seventy-seven percent or more of the students reported that they either agreed or strongly agreed with four positive-attitude statements and either disagreed or strongly disagreed with two out of three negative-attitude statements. Between 30% and 61% of the students reported that they practice on nutrition-related individual behaviors.

CONCLUSIONS

The knowledge, attitudes and practices of senior medical students in Taiwan suggest the need for education strategies to improve competence in the area of nutrition.