Nutrition Counselling Practices among General Practitioners in Croatia

Albina Dumic, Ivan Miskulin, Matea Matic Licanin, Aida Mujkic, Daniela Cacic Kenjeric and Maja Miskulin
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Albina Dumic: Faculty of Medicine, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, 31 000 Osijek, Croatia
Ivan Miskulin: Faculty of Medicine, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, 31 000 Osijek, Croatia
Matea Matic Licanin: Faculty of Medicine, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, 31 000 Osijek, Croatia
Aida Mujkic: School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia
Daniela Cacic Kenjeric: Faculty of Food Technology, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, 31 000 Osijek, Croatia
Maja Miskulin: Faculty of Medicine, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, 31 000 Osijek, Croatia

IJERPH, 2017, vol. 14, issue 12, 1-11

Abstract: Chronic non-communicable diseases are a significant public health problem and imbalanced nutrition is one of the most significant risk factor for them. The objective of this study was to examine Croatia’s general practitioners’ nutrition counselling practice and determine the factors that influence such practice. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 444 (17.0%) randomly selected general practitioners (GPs) in Croatia from May to July 2013 via a 32-item anonymous questionnaire. Study showed that 77.0% of participants had provided nutrition counselling exclusively to patients with specific health risks; 18.7% participants had provided nutrition counselling for all patients, regardless of their individual risks, while 4.3% had not provide nutrition counselling. As the most significant stimulating factor for implementing nutrition counselling in their daily work with patients, 55.6% of the participants identified personal interest regarding nutrition and the effects it has on health. The latter factor was more frequently emphasized among female general practitioners ( p < 0.001) and general practitioners without chronic diseases ( p < 0.001). The most significant barrier for nutrition counselling was lack of time (81.6%). It is necessary to make additional efforts to increase the frequency of nutrition counselling provided by general practitioners in Croatia. The majority of Croatian general practitioners could increase their nutrition counselling practice in order to promote balanced nutrition and improve the overall health status of their patients.

Keywords: nutrition; counselling; general practitioners; primary health care; Croatia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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