Evaluation of a Nutrition Care Process implementation package in hospital dietetic departments

AimIncorporation of the Nutrition Care Process (NCP) and NCP Terminology (NCPt) into clinical dietetics practice is advocated in Australia; however, no evidence-based implementation process exists, which may hinder uptake. Based on formative research findings from the Attitudes Skill Knowledge (ASK) NCP survey and using a change management framework, we developed an implementation package for Australian hospital dietitians. This paper aims to report on the outcome of the pilot evaluation and efficacy of the package. MethodsDietitians from three hospitals (two tests and one control) in Western Australia who had not undergone NCP implementation were recruited. Evaluation occurred through administering the ASK NCP survey pre and post implementation in all subjects and focus groups at test sites. The Mann-Whitney U-test was applied to determine whether the changes in the test group were significantly different to the control group. The Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to determine whether there were significant changes within groups. Focus groups were audio-recorded, transcribed and then analysed for themes by the authors. ResultsCompared to pre-implementation, the dietitians from the test hospitals had significantly higher NCP knowledge (P = 0.006), were more familiar with NCP (P = 0.01) and NCPt (P = 0.025), and more confident to utilise NCP practice (P = 0.011). Compared to pre-implementation, the control group displayed significantly higher familiarity with NCP and NCPt (P = 0.041); however, significant improvements in other constructs were not observed. No significant difference was observed between groups for all constructs. ConclusionsDietitians found the package useful and would recommend it to Australian hospital dietetic departments.