Nutrition professionals are expected to play a crucial role in providing appropriate nutrition interventions to patients. Globally, nutrition professionals in clinical settings are dietitians. However, many healthcare workers with different educational backgrounds are employed at nutrition departments of hospitals in Vietnam. No earlier study has attempted to evaluate the competence of the nutrition workforce. Our objective was to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAPs) of the current nutrition workforce in Vietnam. A cross-sectional healthcare facility-based study was conducted with 256 employees working at nutrition departments of 75 public hospitals from 7 October to 19 November 2023. Clinical nutritional KAP was evaluated via a questionnaire. KAP levels were categorized as ≥ 50% "adequate" and < 50% "inadequate". The chi-square test and logistic regression were used for bivariate analyses of categorical independent variables. T tests and Mann‒Whitney U tests were used for bivariate analyses of interval ratio variables. Multivariate analysis was performed to identify the determinants of KAP. The significance level was defined as p < 0.05. The proportion of the nutrition workforce with adequate clinical nutrition knowledge, attitudes, and practices was 62.9%, 65.2%, and 62.9%, respectively. Compared with non-qualified nutrition professional (non-QNPs), QNPs accounted for a significantly greater proportion of those with adequate clinical knowledge (80.2% vs. 54.1%, p < 0.001) and practice (86.1% vs. 51.2%, p < 0.001). The determinants of having adequate clinical nutrition knowledge were identified: (i) being responsible for clinical nutrition; (ii) being responsible for food safety and hygiene monitoring; (iii) working at a high-level hospital; and (iv) working at hospitals in Hanoi. Adequate clinical nutrition practices were determined by (i) serving as a dietetic preceptor; (ii) having adequate clinical nutrition knowledge; and (iii) working at hospitals in Hanoi. Undergraduate educational background was the only determinant of having adequate positive attitudes of the nutrition workforce. Non-QNPs had slightly poorer clinical nutrition knowledge and practice than QNPs. Medical doctors and preventative medicine doctors demonstrated poorer attitudes toward nutrition-related tasks than dietitians. The study recommended that hospitals in Vietnam employ QNPs (dietitians) rather than recruiting non-QNPs. Alternatively, non-QNPs should be gradually replaced by QNPs.
Ngoc et al. (Tue,) studied this question.
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