ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To determine the level of agreement between family physicians and the nutritional counseling recommendations of the US Preventive Services Task Force. DESIGN: A survey was developed, tested, and mailed to a random nationwide sample of 500 family physicians. PARTICIPANTS: Active members of the American Academy of Family Physicians, Kansas City, Mo. Forty-nine percent of the physicians responded to the survey. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The level of agreement between family physicians and the nutritional counseling recommendations of the US Preventive Services Task Force was determined through responses from 1 to 7 on a Likert scale, with a higher number indicating a greater level of agreement. RESULTS: A comparison of age, gender, and type of practice found that the sample did not significantly differ from the characteristics of the membership of the American Academy of Family Physicians. Seventy-five percent of the physicians agreed that clinicians should provide periodic counseling regarding the dietary intake of fat and cholesterol. Fifty percent or more of the physicians agreed with the other five recommendations, including providing periodic counseling about the dietary energy intake, the dietary intake of sodium, and exercise and referring patients to a registered dietitian. Gender and type of practice had a significant effect on the level of agreement with the recommendations. CONCLUSIONS: Generally, this sample of family physicians agreed with the US Preventive Services Task Force nutritional counseling recommendations. Family physicians seemed to be supportive of nutritional counseling during the periodic health examination, but further research is required to identify barriers to implementation.
Subject(s)
Counseling , Nutritional Physiological Phenomena , Physician's Role , Physicians, Family/statistics & numerical data , Adult , Aged , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Practice Guidelines as Topic , Preventive Medicine , Sex Distribution , Societies, Medical , Surveys and Questionnaires , United StatesABSTRACT
This study was undertaken to determine the beliefs of family physicians about the role of diet and cancer, as well as to determine how often family physicians assess dietary risks in patient encounters and recommend preventive dietary practices to reduce cancer risk. This study consisted of a survey of a national random sample of 486 family physicians from the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), and 237 responded (49%). The demographic characteristics of the respondents were determined to be similar to those of the AAFP membership. Thirty-five percent of the physicians surveyed responded that diet is important in the development of cancer. While 31% responded they recommend dietary changes to reduce cancer risk to their patients, only 21% agreed that they find counseling patients about dietary issues professionally gratifying. Respondents agreed with most of the American Cancer Society, National Cancer Institute, and surgeon general's dietary recommendations to reduce cancer risk. The level of agreement to broad general recommendations was higher than the level of agreement to specific dietary recommendations that stated a specific level or amount of consumption.
Subject(s)
Diet/adverse effects , Neoplasms/etiology , Physicians, Family/psychology , Practice Patterns, Physicians'/statistics & numerical data , Counseling , Feeding Behavior , Humans , Neoplasms/prevention & control , Patient Education as Topic , Physicians, Family/statistics & numerical data , Risk FactorsABSTRACT
A national random sample of 229 family physicians responded to a survey which included perceived barriers to patients' dietary change. Physicians perceived food taste preference (71%) as a deterrent to patients' dietary change followed by knowledge of what dietary changes to make (48%) and cost of food recommended (44%).
