Systematic Review of Patient Preferences and Experiences Regarding Dietetic Outpatient Care

Dietitians play a crucial role in delivering medical nutrition therapy in outpatient settings where overnight admission of patients is not required. Despite the increasing focus on value-based healthcare and patient-reported measures (PRMs), there have been no recent reports synthesising patient experiences of dietetic outpatient care. This study aims to synthesise existing literature on patient preferences and experiences of outpatient dietetic care and to provide updated guidance for dietitians to improve patient-centred care.

A qualitative systematic review with meta-ethnography was conducted. The review included studies that reported patient experiences of dietetic care provided at outpatient settings detailed through focus groups, interviews, surveys or questionnaires, regardless of language, year or nationality. Participants' quotes and second-order concepts were extracted verbatim and synthesised. Main themes and sub-themes were then developed.

Five database searches yielded 5786 articles. After title and abstract screening and full-text review, 72 articles were included. Three overarching themes were identified: (1) the process of accessing and receiving dietetic care was problematic; (2) the delivery and content of dietetic advice were suboptimal at times and (3) personal attributes of the dietitian and a desire for speciality expertise influenced perceptions of the quality of dietetic care.

The findings from this study provide actionable insights for dietitians to tailor their outpatient services by improving accessibility, refining the delivery of care and enhancing specialised expertise to meet individual patient needs and expectations effectively.