Dietetic students’ experiences with telehealth nutrition counseling – a qualitative research study

Background Nutrition counseling via telehealth has increased dramatically, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study was to explore dietetics students’ perspectives on the effectiveness of providing nutrition counseling via telehealth to individuals living with chronic conditions and the impact of this experience on their academic and professional growth. Methods A qualitative thematic analysis with semi-structured individual interviews was conducted in 2023 with fourteen graduate dietetics students who participated in at least one semester of a telehealth nutrition counseling program at the University of North Florida. All participants were female, and the majority identified as Caucasian (65%). The interview guide focused on four areas: perceived program effectiveness, benefits/impact on academic or professional growth, experience/opinion about telehealth, and social responsibility/public service. Two independent coders reviewed the transcripts using predefined thematic categories. Results Guided by four predefined thematic categories derived from the semi structured interview guide; coders identified fifteen themes across participants’ responses. Conducting counseling helped students improve their counseling skills (n = 13, 92.9%), their ability to apply nutrition knowledge (n = 14, 100%), enhanced social responsibility (n = 14, 100%), and increased cultural awareness (n = 5, 35.7%). The main barriers were technological difficulties (n = 13, 92.9%), contacting and scheduling visits (n = 11, 78.6%), and lack of in-person interactions (n = 7, 50%). Conclusions Dietetic students who participated had an improved perception of their ability to counsel individuals. Future studies should examine longer program durations and explore strategies for further integrating telehealth training into nutrition counseling curricula to better prepare students for current practice environments.