Primary health care providers' attitudes and counseling behaviors related to dietary sodium reduction.

Abstract

Listen

Translate article

High sodium intake is associated with increased blood pressure.1 Average sodium intake among US adults far exceeds recommendations.2 Primary care physicians and nurse practitioners are the first line of medical care and can influence opinions and behaviors of their patients.3,4 Although some information exists about perceived advice from health professionals related to sodium reduction,5 little is known about health care providers’ own perceptions about sodium intake and patient counseling behaviors about reducing sodium intake. We used data from DocStyles, aWeb-based survey of health care providers. Participants included health care providers who practiced in the United States; worked in an individual, group, or hospital setting; and had practiced medicine for a minimum of 3 years. In 2010, family/general practitioners (FGPs), internists, and nurse practitioners were asked questions on sodium. Response rates were 45.2% for FGPs and internists combined and 52.6% for nurse practitioners. The sodium intake component of this survey consisted of 6 questions assessing health care providers’ opinions and perceived counseling behaviors related to reducing dietary sodium intake. The survey also included questions about health care provider characteristics, including sociodemographic (age, sex, and race/ethnicity), medical practice (type of practitioner, practice setting, years of practice, whether they practice at a teaching hospital, and the financial situation of the majority of their patients), and health-related behavior (self- reported height and weight; the number of days per week they eat at least 5 cups of fruit or vegetables; smoke cigarettes, cigars, or pipes; and exercise or keep their heart rate up for at least 30 min/d). Differences in response frequency were determined with 2 tests for categorical variables and Mann-Whitney test for Likert scales. All analyses were conducted using SPSS statistical software (SPSS Inc).