Frontiers in Nutrition · 4 authors, 4 centres
This summary was generated by AI from a single paper. It has not been reviewed by a clinician and is not clinical advice. Verify against the source before acting on it.
This cross-sectional survey of 114 healthcare professionals in Saudi Arabia found that less than half of hospitals had a formal nutritional support team, and professionals reported significantly higher confidence in enteral nutrition practice compared to parenteral nutrition.
This cross-sectional study used a web-based questionnaire to assess nutritional support practices, attitudes, and perceptions among 114 healthcare professionals in Saudi Arabian hospitals. The majority of respondents were dietitians (54%), followed by physicians (33%) and pharmacists (12%). The mean confidence level for enteral nutrition practice (7.7 ± 2.3) was significantly higher than for parenteral nutrition practice (6.1 ± 2.5) (p < 0.01). Regression analysis indicated that confidence for enteral nutrition was significantly influenced by nutritional qualification, facility type, profession, and years of experience. A major limitation is that the sample was dominated by dietitians, which may limit the generalizability of results to other professions. The study concludes that professional qualification and training are essential for promoting nutritional support practice in hospitals.
