CHSU Discovery

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Nutrition and lifestyle modifications are effective interventions in tackling many chronic diseases, including cardiovascular diseases. However, healthcare professionals are not sufficiently trained in nutrition and lifestyle education. To address this gap, we established an interprofessional, team-based framework to train healthcare professional students on healthy nutrition and culturally competent dietary coaching and motivational interviewing.

EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING

Twelve doctor of pharmacy students from California Health Sciences University and three dietetic students from California State University, Fresno enrolled in this training program. Three pre-/post-surveys and one post-reflection worksheet were utilized to assess progress in student learning, including knowledge about obesity, confidence in coaching/mentoring families, perception of healthy nutrition, dietary habits, and interprofessional collaborative competencies.

FINDINGS

Quantitative data and reflection worksheet thematic analysis revealed improvement in learner outcomes in the majority of the assessed areas. Students' knowledge about obesity and mentoring skills improved by 32%, knowledge about program curriculum improved by 167%, dietary habits improved by 28% and interprofessional competencies improved by 9%-34%. Thematic analysis of interprofessional educational reflection worksheets indicated positive reaction to the program, enhanced interprofessional outcomes, and potential application of acquired knowledge and skills on family and future patients.

SUMMARY

Success of this interprofessional, team-based study encourages expanding the program to enroll more students from various healthcare specialties, including medical and nursing. This framework can be easily adapted by other healthcare programs to prepare healthcare providers to work interprofessionally and effectively include basic nutrition and lifestyle recommendations in disease management and preventive care.