ArticleHealthcare policy = Politiques de sante2020
The Ontario Public Does Not Understand the Difference Between Registered Dietitians and Unregulated "Nutritionists": Results from a Cross-Sectional Mixed Methods Study.
Article in Healthcare policy = Politiques de sante, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Five Actions to Strengthen the Nutrition and Dietetics Profession Into the Future: Perspectives From Australia and New Zealand.Journal of human nutrition and dietetics : the official journal of the British Dietetic Association · 2025Article
- Diet and Psoriasis-Related Information on Instagram: A Quality and Content Analysis of Posts Under Popular Psoriasis Hashtags.Journal of human nutrition and dietetics : the official journal of the British Dietetic Association · 2025Article
- Health Services Research and Government's Spending on Healthcare Programs: A Welcome Misalignment?Healthcare policy = Politiques de sante · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCurrent Ontario healthcare policy permits anyone to use the title "nutritionist" and practice as a clinician regardless of education and training. The title "dietitian," on the other hand, is protected under the Dietetics Act (1991) for use exclusively by individuals who undergo rigorous education and training in evidence-based nutrition.
objectivesThe objectives of this study were to: identify whether the Ontario general public understands the difference between a registered dietitian (RD) and an unregulated "nutritionist;" understand experiences with RDs and "nutritionists;" and determine if the current nutrition landscape arising from gaps in healthcare policy has the potential to harm the public.
methodsA cross-sectional mixed methods survey study was carried out using inductive content analysis, descriptive statistics and chi-square tests.
resultsRespondents (n = 402) did not understand the difference between RDs and "nutritionists." Overall, public experiences have been significantly more positive when nutrition information/advice stemmed from an RD. IMPLICATIONS: This study provides justification for proposed legislative amendments to the Dietetics Act (1991) and the Regulated Health Professions Act (1991). These proposed amendments have been detailed in the full-text manuscript.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.