Food allergy competencies of dietitians in the United Kingdom, Australia and United States of America
Food allergy competencies of dietitians in the United Kingdom, Australia and United States of America
BackgroundA knowledgeable and competent dietitian is an integral part of the food allergy multidisciplinary team, contributing to effective diagnosis and management of food allergic disorders. Little is currently known about the food allergy training needs and preferences of dietitians. The purpose of this paper is to measure and compare self-reported food allergy competencies of dietitians based in the UK, Australia and USA.MethodsA survey of USA-based paediatric dietitians was developed to measure self-reported proficiency and educational needs in the area of food allergy. The survey was modified slightly and circulated online to paediatric and adult dietitians in the UK and Australia. Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlations are presented.ResultsA total of 797 dietitians completed the questionnaire. Competency in “developing food challenge protocols” and “managing feeding problems” were rated the poorest overall across all three settings. A higher level of competency was significantly positively associated with length of practice as a dietitian, percentage of caseload composed of patients with food allergy and training in food allergy. The most popular topics for further training were food additives, pharmacological reactions and oral allergy syndrome.ConclusionsThere is a need amongst dietitians to increase their knowledge in different aspects of food allergy diagnosis and management, specifically the areas of developing food challenge protocols and management of feeding problems. This study provides valuable information for designing targeted food allergy education for dietitians.
Maslin, Kate
9d337ccf-5720-46b8-8bd1-fecb2f7ac2d1
Meyer, Rosan
8a33289b-c603-42b1-9518-2bb99128eb06
Reeves, Liane
251c2336-36b2-4b3a-9933-b9ed657d46e0
Mackenzie, Heather
e1e524b1-b525-4da4-a7d3-d0bb359f4680
Swain, Anne
3254b551-d712-4e07-8160-79a790458433
Stuart-Smith, Wendy
0d756101-a3b8-4981-becf-8b66ab2286b4
Loblay, Rob
6fd25fd6-a591-47e7-9dcd-c73b71c539fb
Groetch, Marion
548af989-a4a5-4010-8015-6475eb754639
Venter, Carina
a9b7dd5e-b0cb-4068-be82-e15b587cc20b
14 November 2014
Maslin, Kate
9d337ccf-5720-46b8-8bd1-fecb2f7ac2d1
Meyer, Rosan
8a33289b-c603-42b1-9518-2bb99128eb06
Reeves, Liane
251c2336-36b2-4b3a-9933-b9ed657d46e0
Mackenzie, Heather
e1e524b1-b525-4da4-a7d3-d0bb359f4680
Swain, Anne
3254b551-d712-4e07-8160-79a790458433
Stuart-Smith, Wendy
0d756101-a3b8-4981-becf-8b66ab2286b4
Loblay, Rob
6fd25fd6-a591-47e7-9dcd-c73b71c539fb
Groetch, Marion
548af989-a4a5-4010-8015-6475eb754639
Venter, Carina
a9b7dd5e-b0cb-4068-be82-e15b587cc20b
Maslin, Kate, Meyer, Rosan, Reeves, Liane, Mackenzie, Heather, Swain, Anne, Stuart-Smith, Wendy, Loblay, Rob, Groetch, Marion and Venter, Carina
(2014)
Food allergy competencies of dietitians in the United Kingdom, Australia and United States of America.
Clinical and Translational Allergy, 4 (1), [37].
(doi:10.1186/2045-7022-4-37).
Abstract
BackgroundA knowledgeable and competent dietitian is an integral part of the food allergy multidisciplinary team, contributing to effective diagnosis and management of food allergic disorders. Little is currently known about the food allergy training needs and preferences of dietitians. The purpose of this paper is to measure and compare self-reported food allergy competencies of dietitians based in the UK, Australia and USA.MethodsA survey of USA-based paediatric dietitians was developed to measure self-reported proficiency and educational needs in the area of food allergy. The survey was modified slightly and circulated online to paediatric and adult dietitians in the UK and Australia. Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlations are presented.ResultsA total of 797 dietitians completed the questionnaire. Competency in “developing food challenge protocols” and “managing feeding problems” were rated the poorest overall across all three settings. A higher level of competency was significantly positively associated with length of practice as a dietitian, percentage of caseload composed of patients with food allergy and training in food allergy. The most popular topics for further training were food additives, pharmacological reactions and oral allergy syndrome.ConclusionsThere is a need amongst dietitians to increase their knowledge in different aspects of food allergy diagnosis and management, specifically the areas of developing food challenge protocols and management of feeding problems. This study provides valuable information for designing targeted food allergy education for dietitians.
Text
2045-7022-4-37
- Version of Record
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 1 October 2014
Published date: 14 November 2014
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 438033
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/438033
ISSN: 2045-7022
PURE UUID: e44e7312-1ffc-4282-9910-bb6e9605ba5a
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 26 Feb 2020 17:31
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 03:59
Export record
Altmetrics
Contributors
Author:
Kate Maslin
Author:
Rosan Meyer
Author:
Liane Reeves
Author:
Heather Mackenzie
Author:
Anne Swain
Author:
Wendy Stuart-Smith
Author:
Rob Loblay
Author:
Marion Groetch
Author:
Carina Venter
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics