Research in renal nutrition--how to get started

Dietitians, general and renal, have long struggled with the tasks of conducting and publishing nutrition-related research. When surveyed, dietitians indicated that the reasons they are not participating in research, and thus writing and submitting manuscripts for publication, are that (1) they do not have sufficient support from administration and (2) they lack available time. Removing barriers to research participation will alter the perceptions, attitudes, and knowledge of dietitians, thus enabling current practitioners to discover ways in which they can overcome their individual obstacles and participate in research. Increased support and knowledge must be provided to renal dietitians while simultaneously limiting the stress that may occur while assuming these additional responsibilities. Participating in renal nutrition research will result in renal dietitians generating nutrition data on which to base practice, increase their job satisfaction, and increase the level of financial reimbursement for nutrition services.