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A whole-food plant-based experiential education program for health care providers results in personal and professional changes
(2020) Lessem and her team support the implementation of a whole-food plant-based diet (WFPB) in reducing risk of developing diet-related diseases and since most people haven’t been counseled on this dietary pattern, an experiential education program was designed for 30 healthcare professionals (nurse practitioners, registered nurses, physicians) to learn about and implement the special diet for 3 weeks. The aim was for the healthcare providers to expand their knowledge, increase acceptance of the WFPB, and improve likelihood of counselling patients on this particular dietary pattern. Participants completed preintervention and postintervention questionnaires assessing dietary intake, knowledge, weight, mood, energy, benefits, barriers, self-efficacy, and likelihood of continuing to follow, or counsel patients about a WFPB diet. Reduced intake of animal-derived foods, higher consumption of WFPB foods, greater mood, energy and loss of weight were seen in the healthcare professionals. Self-efficacy improved and perceived barriers to following and counseling about a WFPB diet declined, resulting in the participants being more likely to continue with the intervention diet and discuss with patients. Since a three-week intervention altered the healthcare workers’ knowledge, skills and attitudes about WFPB diets, Lessem and colleagues are keen on seeing other providers accepting the diet, leading to more awareness in patients and helping to reduce the current burden of diet-related chronic diseases. [NPID: performance, whole foods, plant-based diet, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, physicians, self-efficacy, chronic disease]
Year: 2020
