Enablers and Barriers in Promotion of Nutrition in Clinical Settings among Physiotherapists in Dhaka City - A Cross Sectional Survey

Purpose: The purpose of this study was determined the enablers and barriers of nutritional counseling to patients attending physiotherapy clinics in Dhaka city.

Objectives: To assess the socio demographic (age, gender, marital status, religious, educational status, income and working duration) characteristics of physiotherapists providing services in selected physiotherapy clinic in Dhaka city, Bangladesh, To assess the nutritional knowledge of physiotherapists for counseling patients attending physiotherapy clinics in Dhaka city, Bangladesh, To assess the enablers in nutrition counseling to patients perceived by the physiotherapists providing services in selected physiotherapy clinic in Dhaka city, Bangladesh, To assess the barriers of nutritional counseling to patients perceived by the physiotherapists providing services in selected physiotherapy clinic in Dhaka city, Bangladesh, To observe the nutritional management procedure for patients attending physiotherapy clinics in Dhaka city, Bangladesh.

Methodology: cross sectional research with 120 participants among the target population of this study is male and female enthusiastically grace with presence in Dhaka city of Bangladesh. The target population of this study was physiotherapists worked in Dhaka city. Though the study populations were those meeting inclusion/exclusion criteria and providing physiotherapy services at the selected private or government healthcare conveniences. The instruments were used as a direct questionnaire. Data were numerically coded and captured in Excel, using an SPSS 22.0 version.

Results: The findings of the study provide a baseline of information about find out nutritional status and use of mushrooms in Bangladesh. In this study, 50% (n=60) respondents were female and rests of 50% (n=60) were male. The mean age of the participant was 35.72 years. Study focuses in educational level 53.3% of the respondents were highest rate Bachelor degree. 120 physiotherapists responded. Physiotherapists are confident and consider the very important and of high priority in their daily clinical work in dietary pattern. They, however, assessed and counseled on dietary status opportunistically in patients. Despite, physiotherapists believed that the diet counseling they give could be helping in patient with their unhealthy dieting activity. Physiotherapist can promoter on diet concern as part of their consultation. In physiotherapy practice diet counseling were identified several barrier including lack of access to counselors/health promotion staffs, lack of proper patient education materials and lack of dietary risk factors assessment proficiency and lack of knowledge about management and uncertainty to afford what dietary services.

Keywords: diet risk factors, lifestyle practice, nutritional counseling, physical Therapists.