Assessment of Nutrition Knowledge and Practice among the Healthcare Workers in Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) Patients Management at Ibrahim Medical Collage Hospital.

Abstract

Nutrition management of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is real challenge for neurologist due to poor understanding of patients about different dietary restrictions. Communication gap between the doctor, nurses and patients plus their caregiver assumed to a be cause of this mismanagement which exert negative impact on disease condition and overall improvement. This study aims to determine disease-specific nutrition knowledge of healthcare workers and understanding level of CKD patients about dietary recommendation of OPD and hospitalised patients at the Nephrology department of the selected hospital. At the same time, it has also investigated the approach and practice of knowledge dissemination to the patients of CKD by healthcare workers. In addition, it will also explore the factors that positively and negatively affect the nutrition information dissemination process from doctor to patients. Data has been collected from 10 healthcare professional and 16 CKD patients by using 2 semistructured questionnaires through in depth interview. It has been reviled that most of the healthcare workers have moderate disease-specific knowledge and received several in-house training of dietary management of CKD patients. However, significant gap has been detected in the information dissemination process from doctor to patients where nurses have vital role to play. Nutrition management of in-patients is relatively better as it has been governed by professional nutritionist. On the other hand, approach and practice advising OPD patients is found severely hampered due to excessive patients’ flow against time-pressed schedule, lack of appropriate tools and technics to make patients understand nutrition management protocols and to some extent motivation of both nurses and patients about the significance of dietary management in kidney diseases. Interview data and observational information both reveals the fact that although patients understand what to eat and what not but to great extent the suffers from a clear understand about how much to eat a prescribed diet. The study recommends that patients serving time by nurses at OPD needs to be increased with effective information dissemination process about nutrition management of CKD patients at this hospital.