Promotion of healthy nutrition in clinical practice: A cross-sectional survey of practices and barriers among physiotherapists in southeast Nigeria.
Ukachukwu Okoroafor Abaraogu, Mary O Ogaga, Eric Odidika and 1 others
PMID 30931030WHAT IT FOUND
Most surveyed physiotherapists in southeast Nigeria rarely assessed diet or gave written advice, despite calling diet counselling very important.
Lack of access to counsellors, materials, and expertise were common barriers.
Key findings
01In the survey, 64% of physiotherapists rarely assessed dietary status in new patients, and 66% rarely did so in return patients.
0290% of respondents rarely provided written advice relating to a balanced diet.
03The most frequently cited barrier was lack of access to health promotion staff or counsellors, reported by 82.5% of respondents.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The survey was limited to physiotherapists in five southeastern states, so it may not represent practice elsewhere in Nigeria or other countries. The number of practising physiotherapists was uncertain because registers did not reliably show current location or practice status. Only 103 of 140 distributed questionnaires were returned, and the study did not describe the views of non-responders. Findings were self-reported by questionnaire, so they describe what physiotherapists said they did, not observed care. The survey did not measure whether diet counselling changed patients' eating habits or health outcomes.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflict of interest and reported no financial or other support for the study.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that physiotherapists are delivering effective diet counselling. The study reported self-reported importance, confidence, and practice barriers, but it did not measure patient outcomes.