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Clinical dietetics changes due to cost-reduction activities in healthcare systems
J Kwon1, S A Gilmore, M J Oakland
1Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences at Texas Woman's University, Denton, USA. jkwon@twu.edu
Objective:
This study was designed to assess changes in clinical dietetics due to cost-reduction activities in healthcare systems.
Subjects:
1,200 ADA members who indicated that they were employed by acute care hospitals in ADA Area 2 states.
Design:
A questionnaire about changes in clinical dietetics staffing and clinical dietitians' activities and responsibilities was developed based on qualitative research. Descriptive statistics, t tests, analysis of variance, chi2 tests, and correlations were calculated.
Results:
A total of 342 usable questionnaires (28.5%) were returned. More than one third (37.9%) of respondents reported reductions in the number of clinical dietitians, and 32.2% reported increases in the number of part-time clinical dietitians. Most respondents indicated that they were more involved with high-risk patient interventions, had limited time for inpatient instruction, and experienced an increased patient caseload. Although 45.4% of respondents reported diminished job satisfaction due to recent changes in healthcare systems, some changes, such as increased high-risk patient intervention and referrals, were positively correlated with perceived job satisfaction.
Discussion:
Thorough review of current clinical dietetics activities/responsibilities and planning before cost-reduction, restructuring activities may maximize staff utilization without decreased job satisfaction of clinical dietetics staff.
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