Physician informational needs in providing nutritional guidance to patients

This study's objective was to assess patient nutrition inquiries and related physician resources to identify the nutrition topics about which physicians most need information for patients and practice.

A survey was mailed to a 50% random sample of Washington Academy of Family Physicians (WAFP) members (n=778) to identify the top 10 patient nutrition inquiries that the physician would like to be better equipped to answer. The responding physicians' use of nutrition resources (journals, pamphlets, Web resources, toll-free numbers, and referrals to registered dietitians) was also recorded.

A total of 306 (39.3%) physicians responded. The majority wanted more information on weight management (66.5%), followed by information on herbals, botanicals, and other complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) (36.4%) and vitamin and mineral supplements (24.4%). Other common nutrition inquiries for which respondents wanted more information included diet for prevention of disease, high protein-low carbohydrate diets, and childhood nutrition. A minority of respondents used nutrition Web resources and toll-free numbers. Nearly all respondents reported referring patients to registered dietitians.

Physicians in our survey expressed a need for information on topics such as obesity, CAM, and life cycle and disease-specific diets. Medical nutrition educators should consider the educational needs of the practicing physician.