How Competent are Health Professionals in Delivering Nutrition Education? A Cross-Sectional Study in Ebonyi State, Nigeria

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization recognises nutrition as the basis for good health and the leading edge of disease prevention. Nutrition education is also key in facilitating healthy habits in all spheres of life. Health professionals are central to informing good dietary habits through nutrition education since they are seen as reliable sources for nutritional information. This study assessed health professionals’ competencies in nutrition education in Ebonyi State, Nigeria. METHODOLOGY: A health facility-based cross-sectional study among health professionals was conducted in three selected hospitals from three Local Government Areas in Ebonyi State, Nigeria. A total of 421 health professionals selected by multistage sampling were surveyed. Data analysis was done using IBM SPSS version 25. Chi-square test and multivariate analysis using binary logistic regression were used in the analysis, and the level of statistical significance was determined by a p-value of <0.05. Overall adequate competence of health professionals on nutrition education was derived by the proportion of respondents who had good knowledge, good perception, and good practice of nutrition education. RESULTS: The mean age of the respondents was 32.4 ± 8.9 years, and the majority, 67.5% (283), were females. The highest proportion of respondents, 59.4% (249), were nurses. Less than one-tenth of respondents, 7.4%, had good knowledge of nutrition. A higher proportion of respondents, 85.9% (360), had good practice of nutrition education while less than half, 42.5% (178), had a good perception of nutrition education. A minor proportion of respondents, 43.0% (180), had adequate competency in nutrition education. Predictors of health professionals’ competencies included having postgraduate level of training (AOR= 0.4; 95% CI = 0.2 - 0.8), being a physiotherapist (AOR = 17.2; 95% CI = 1.1 - 267.5), being < 39 years (AOR = 5.8; 95% CI = 2.1 – 16.3) and 40 - 49 years (AOR = 4.8; 95% CI = 1.6 – 14.6). CONCLUSIONS: A minor proportion of respondents had adequate competency in nutrition education. The knowledge of nutrition among health professionals is also poor. The health professionals may require nutrition training for proper delivery of nutrition education. There is a need to incorporate regular in-service training as a strategy for improving health professionals’ nutritional competency.