title: Physician informational needs in providing nutritional guidance to patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study's objective was to assess patient nutrition inquiries and related physician resources to identify the nutrition topics about which physicians most need information for patients and practice.
  
  
  METHODS
  A survey was mailed to a 50% random sample of Washington Academy of Family Physicians (WAFP) members (n=778) to identify the top 10 patient nutrition inquiries that the physician would like to be better equipped to answer. The responding physicians' use of nutrition resources (journals, pamphlets, Web resources, toll-free numbers, and referrals to registered dietitians) was also recorded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 306 (39.3%) physicians responded. The majority wanted more information on weight management (66.5%), followed by information on herbals, botanicals, and other complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) (36.4%) and vitamin and mineral supplements (24.4%). Other common nutrition inquiries for which respondents wanted more information included diet for prevention of disease, high protein-low carbohydrate diets, and childhood nutrition. A minority of respondents used nutrition Web resources and toll-free numbers. Nearly all respondents reported referring patients to registered dietitians.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Physicians in our survey expressed a need for information on topics such as obesity, CAM, and life cycle and disease-specific diets. Medical nutrition educators should consider the educational needs of the practicing physician.
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Nutritional Sciences Program, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle 98195, USA.
authors.forename: Tanis V
authors.initials: TV
authors.lastname: Mihalynuk
authors.forename: Robert H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Knopp
authors.forename: Craig S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.forename: John B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Coombs
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004502:Education, Medical, Continuing; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine / Q000193:education; D005194:Family Practice / Q000193:education* / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D052756:Nutritional Sciences / Q000193:education*; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D010819:Physician's Role; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D010865:Pilot Projects; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013664:Teaching Materials; D014861:Washington