Knowledge, attitudes, clinical practice and perceived barriers with nutrition support among physicians and nurses in the emergency department: A national cross-sectional survey

Abstract

Objective: To explore the current status of knowledge, attitudes, clinical practice and barriers in nutrition support amongst physicians and nurses working in Chinese Emergency Departments (EDs), and the relationship between their demographic characteristics and knowledge and attitudes regarding nutrition support.

Methods: A 34 item survey was developed, validated and distributed nationally to ED physicians and nurses from 1st April to 1st May 2018.

Results: A total of 1234 respondents completed and returned the survey. Knowledge of nutrition support was moderate (mean: 6.70/10) and differed significantly based on demographic characteristics (e.g. age, staff type). Attitudes was very positive (4.15/5), more so among nurses compared to physicians. Only few (5.6%) respondents reportedly assessed nutritional condition for all patients. The most common barriers to optimize nutrition support were being too busy, lack of standardized protocol specific to ED, and lack of teamwork and coordination.

Conclusion: In a subset of physicians and nurses working in Chinese EDs, limited knowledge but positive attitudes toward nutrition support was evident. Recommendations to optimize evidence-based nutritional support practice in the ED include initiating, implementing and sustaining training regarding nutrition support, establishing, implementing and evaluating a standardized protocol, and enhancing interdisciplinary coordination.

Keywords: Attitudes; Barriers; Emergency department; Knowledge; Nutrition support; Practice.