Dietitians' opinions and experiences of client-centred nutrition counselling

The concept of "client-centredness" was explored within a nutrition counselling relationship.

A two-round reactive Delphi survey was used. The first survey was sent to 65 Dietitians of Canada members who indicated in the member database that they had advanced counselling skills. Following analysis of the data, the second-round questionnaire was developed and sent to participants with a report of the first-round results. Analysis of the second-round survey indicated that participants' responses had remained stable, and the Delphi survey was terminated.

Participants agreed that most of the issues identified in the Delphi questionnaire should be included in a client-centred approach to practice; however, when participants were asked about their experience in these areas, median responses and/ or the interquartile ranges changed, indicating some difficulty in implementing the client-centred approach. Comments also indicated that the reality of their workplaces did not allow participants to be as client-centred as they thought they should be, and suggested that the concept of "client-centredness" is not universally understood by dietitians.

If a client-centred approach to practice is truly important, we need to start a dialogue within the profession to gain a deeper understanding of what this means and how it can be implemented.