Perspectives and practices of dietitians with regards to social/mass media use during the transitions from face-to-face to telenutrition in the time of COVID-19: A cross-sectional survey in 10 Arab countries.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, most healthcare professionals switched from face-to-face clinical encounters to telehealth. This study sought to investigate the dietitians' perceptions and practices toward the use of social/mass media platforms amid the transition from face-to-face to telenutrition in the time of COVID-19. This cross-sectional study involving a convenient sample of 2,542 dietitians (mean age = 31.7 ± 9.5; females: 88.2%) was launched in 10 Arab countries between November 2020 and January 2021. Data were collected using an online self-administrated questionnaire. Study findings showed that dietitians' reliance on telenutrition increased by 11% during the pandemic, p = 0.001. Furthermore, 63.0% of them reported adopting telenutrition to cover consultation activities. Instagram was the platform that was most frequently used by 51.7% of dietitians. Dietitians shouldered new difficulties in dispelling nutrition myths during the pandemic (58.2% reported doing so vs. 51.4% pre-pandemic, p < 0.001). Compared to the pre-pandemic period, more dietitians perceived the importance of adopting tele nutrition's clinical and non-clinical services (86.9% vs. 68.0%, p = 0.001), with 76.6% being confident in this practice. In addition, 90.0% of the participants received no support from their work facilities for social media usage. Following the COVID-19 outbreak, the majority of dietitians (80.0%) observed a rise in public interest in nutrition-related topics, particularly those pertaining to healthy eating habits (p = 0.001), healthy recipes (p = 0.001), nutrition and immunity (p = 0.001), and medical nutrition therapies (p = 0.012). Time constraint was the most prevalent barrier to offering telenutrition for nutrition care (32.1%), whereas leveraging a quick and easy information exchange was the most rewarding benefit for 69.3% of the dietitians. In conclusion, to ensure a consistent provision of nutrition care delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic, dietitians working in Arab countries adopted alternative telenutrition approaches through social/mass media.

A Snapshot of the Experience of Dietitians during the COVID-19 Crisis in Five Arab Countries: Findings from a Regional Cross-Sectional Study.

COVID-19's intimidating spread has challenged the resilience of the global health systems, causing shifts in the practices of healthcare workers, including dietitians. The current study aimed to assess the change in dietitians' practices and duties in hospitals/clinics after the commencement of COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-sectional study was conducted in five Arab countries between November 2020 and January 2021. A convenient sample of 903 dietitians filled an online self-administered questionnaire to meet the study aims. Nearly 40.0% of the dietitians experienced a change in their workload and caseload during the pandemic. Besides, 18.7% of the dietitians had been assigned additional tasks in their facilities. Nearly half the dietitians (46.9%) had started giving remote nutrition consultations, associated with a 21% drop in the number of dietitians offering in-person consultations (p = 0.001). Approximately 58.9% of the dietitians provided nutrition care to COVID-19 patients, with 48.4% having access to personal protective equipment. Moreover, 17.0% of dietitians supported COVID-19 patients with enteral and parenteral nutrition. In addition, 45.0% of dietitians reported that managing COVID-19 was challenging given that it was a newly discovered condition.