Abstract
A short questionnaire to test understanding of the principles of nutrition was designed and administered to 128 patients in a general medical ward.
The questionnaire was based on three components: familiarity with nutrition terms, knowledge of the principles of current recommendations, and understanding of the practical application of these recommendations. Although scores for each of the three components of nutrition knowledge correlated strongly with the overall understanding of individuals, there was rather poor correlation between the components, the lowest correlation being between knowledge of theoretical principles and understanding of the practical measures needed to implement current recommendations.
Compared with the remainder of the sample, significantly better total scores were recorded by subjects in the age group 20–39 and significantly worse in the age group 60–79. Significantly better scores were also found in subjects who had received dietary advice from a dietitian.
The questionnaire was based on three components: familiarity with nutrition terms, knowledge of the principles of current recommendations, and understanding of the practical application of these recommendations. Although scores for each of the three components of nutrition knowledge correlated strongly with the overall understanding of individuals, there was rather poor correlation between the components, the lowest correlation being between knowledge of theoretical principles and understanding of the practical measures needed to implement current recommendations.
Compared with the remainder of the sample, significantly better total scores were recorded by subjects in the age group 20–39 and significantly worse in the age group 60–79. Significantly better scores were also found in subjects who had received dietary advice from a dietitian.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 39-46 |
Journal | Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics |
Volume | 1 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Feb 1988 |
Keywords
- Nutrition knowledge
- Questionnaire
- Dietitian