Nutrition in primary care: current practices, attitudes, and barriers.

objectiveTo investigate what role family physicians currently play in the management of patients with nutrition-related issues and whether implementation of current nutrition counseling guidelines is feasible in primary care practices.

designMailed survey.

settingFamily practice offices in British Columbia.

participantsA total of 451 Canadian-trained family physicians practising in British Columbia.

main outcome measuresRespondents' demographic characteristics; respondents' attitudes about and perceived barriers to nutrition counseling, as well as their current practices and training in this area.

resultsAmong the 757 physicians surveyed, the response rate was 59.6%. Overall, respondents had positive attitudes about the role of nutrition in patient health, and most physicians (58.1%) believed that more than 60% of their patients would benefit from nutrition counseling. However, there was a considerable gap between the proportion of patients who respondents thought would benefit from nutrition counseling and the proportion of patients who received such counseling either in the family physicians' offices or through referral to dietitians. Rural physicians referred patients to dietitian services more frequently than urban physicians did (41.7% vs 21.7% made more than 20 referrals to dietitians each year). Nearly all physicians identified lack of time and compensation as the strongest barriers to providing nutrition guidance. Training was not considered to be as strong a barrier to counseling, even though 82.3% of family physicians reported their formal nutrition training in medical school to be inadequate, and only 30% of family physicians reported currently using any nutrition-related resources.

conclusionFor family physicians, successful implementation of the 2006 Canadian Clinical Practice Guidelines on the Management and Prevention of Obesity requires access to adequate training, compensation, and evidence-based interventions related to nutrition. This study highlights current nutrition counseling practices in family medicine and identifies several obstacles to integrating the current guidelines in primary care settings.