Distribution of nutritionists in the Peruvian health system: An overview by levels of healthcare

The provision of services for comprehensive healthcare requires the involvement of various professionals with specific competencies to provide the best possible care to the population. The inclusion of nutritionists at different levels of the healthcare system is crucial to ensure comprehensive care at various stages of life. An unequal distribution of nutritionists across healthcare levels can lead to fragmented care and missed opportunities to address nutrition-related issues. Therefore, a study was conducted with the aim of describing the distribution of nutritionists in healthcare facilities according to the level of care and evaluating compliance with the human resources recommendations established by the technical standard of Nutrition and Dietetics UPSS. A descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted using the analysis of secondary sources. Human resources data from SUSALUD for the year 2022 were used. The Technical Standard of UPSS of Nutrition and Dietetics was considered to assess compliance with human resources recommendations. Among the main findings, it was identified that 7.93% of first-level healthcare facilities have at least one nutritionist. In the second level of care, 96.35% of healthcare facilities do not comply with the human resources recommendations of the technical standard, and no third-level healthcare facility met this recommendation. The distribution of nutritionists across various levels of care in the Peruvian healthcare system is unequal. It is necessary to improve human resources planning in the Peruvian healthcare system to ensure comprehensive healthcare for the population..