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Erschienen in:
01.10.2009 | Original Article
Internal Medicine Residents’ Comfort with and Frequency of Providing Dietary Counseling to Diabetic Patients
Erschienen in: Journal of General Internal Medicine | Ausgabe 10/2009
Einloggen, um Zugang zu erhaltenABSTRACT
BACKGROUND
Resident physicians’ preparedness to provide dietary counseling for the rising number of diabetic patients is unclear.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the comfort with, frequency of, and perceived effectiveness of diabetic dietary counseling by internal medicine (IM) residents.
DESIGN
Cross-sectional survey.
PARTICIPANTS
One hundred eleven IM residents at a single academic institution.
RESULTS
Survey response rate was 94%. Fewer residents (56%) were comfortable with diabetic dietary counseling compared with counseling on symptoms of hypo/hyperglycemia (90%, p < 0.001). Residents less frequently provided diabetic dietary counseling (63%), compared with counseling for medication adherence (87%, p < 0.001). The 28% of residents reporting prior education with chronic disease self-management were more comfortable with diabetic dietary counseling (OR 3.2, 95% CI 1.4–7.3, p = 0.006), and reported counseling more frequently, although this difference was not statistically significant (OR 1.8, 95% CI 0.86–3.8, p = 0.12). More frequent counseling was reported by those residents who were more comfortable (OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.0–2.2, p = 0.03) or felt more effective (OR 3.6, 95% CI 2.1–6.1, p < 0.001) with their diabetic dietary counseling.
CONCLUSION
Overall, IM residents reported low levels of comfort with and frequency of diabetic dietary counseling. However, residents who were more comfortable or who felt more effective with their dietary counseling counseled more frequently.