Manage Abstracts

The Nutrition Care Process (NCP) is a standardized approach to guide nutrition care. It encompasses four steps (nutrition assessment, nutrition diagnosis, nutrition intervention, nutrition monitoring and evaluation). The NCP Terminology (NCPT) was developed to help improve dietetic documentation. Although NCP/NCPT implementation has been occurring in Canada for ~10y, few data are available on this process.

To assess NCP/NCPT implementation in Canadian dietetic practice using the newly developed and validated International Nutrition Care Process and Terminology Implementation Survey.

From February/2017-April/2017, various channels (e.g., dietetic regulatory bodies, Dietitians of Canada newsletters, social media, word-of-mouth) were used to invite dietitians from across Canada to complete the online survey (mounted on SurveyMonkey) in English or French. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.

In total, 503 dietitians participated; 92% completed the survey in English, and 59.8% resided in Alberta or Ontario. Respondents worked in various practice areas, but many worked with inpatients (56.7%) and/or outpatients (52.7%). Most respondents (97.3%) had heard about the NCP. Over 70% reported either frequently or always using the nutrition assessment and nutrition diagnosis steps of the NCP, and >50% reported frequently or always using the nutrition intervention, and nutrition monitoring and evaluation steps. The NCPT was most commonly implemented in the nutrition diagnosis NCP step (73.9% of respondents reported frequently or always implementing the NCPT at this step)

Results in volunteer respondents suggest high awareness of the NCP and that many dietitians currently implement the NCP in their practice. Implementation varies depending on the NCP step and implementation was higher for the NCP versus NCPT.

This work provides baseline data on NCP/NCPT implementation in Canada, and information on where to target initiatives to improve uptake.