A SURVEY OF NUTRITION KNOWLEDGE, PRACTICE, ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR OF GENERAL-PRACTITIONER TRAINEES IN IRELAND

Background: Medical research has acknowledged the relationship between nutrition and the development of chronic diseases, as well as the int eraction between disease and nutritional status. However, nutrition ed ucation in the medical curriculum has been far from adequate. The pres ent study was undertaken to examine the current status of nutrition aw areness amongst general practitioner trainees throughout Ireland. Meth ods: A self-administered questionnaire (Q1) was used to assess the nut rition knowledge, attitudes, practice and behaviour of one hundred fin al year general practitioner trainees. A second questionnaire [Q2] was sent to the relevant medical faculties to ascertain the level of nutr ition taught within the medical curricula. Results: The overall respon se rate to Q1 was 52% (34 females, 18 males). Respondents showed littl e awareness that nutrition had been included in their medical training . Q2 verified that nutrition mostly featured in the biochemistry compo nent of the medical curricula. The results indicate the need to improv e basic nutritional knowledge and its application in clinical practice . The disparity between the perceived importance of nutrition and pers onal lifestyle behaviours concurred with other studies. Conclusion: Th e general practitioner trainees were ill equipped to appreciate and Va lue the extent of dietetic intervention for nutrition-related problems in clinical practice.