There is more to nutrition care than just nutrition: Communicational skills in nutrition care of cancer patients

Description

Introduction: Many cancer patients suffer from malnutrition and weight loss in which case some are offered dietary counselling. But how do the dietitian talk about sensitive matters such as critical nutrition, weight loss and the risk of dying? The objective of this research project was to explore how a dialogic and
person-centred approach can facilitate the nutrition care process
in cancer care.

Methods: 16 individual and two group dietary counselling sessions were video-recorded and 18 interviews conducted (n=29; 20 patients, 9 relatives) to gain insight into the communicative aspects of the nutrition care process and how cancer patients and relatives experience dietary counselling. The interviews followed a qualitative semi-structured dialogic interview guide. Data was digitally recorded, transcribed, and analysed using a pragmatic analysis of language approach. From September 2016–June 2018, two dietitians and a researcher met repeatedly in a research circle, working with extracts from the
data, their counselling skills, and developing a dialogic conversational structure.

Results: The following themes characterises communicative qualities in dietary counselling: A) Clear speech: transparency in explaining and metacommunicating (what to address, why important, how to handle). B) Person-centred guidance: including the cancer patient to the extent the patient can
handle it and offering information and options adjusted to the individual. C) Relational attention: paying attention to building rapport with the patient, and being oriented towards how the patient is doing physically and mentally. Furthermore, the project points to video-recordings of dietary counselling sessions and interviews with patients and relatives as facilitating in developing
communicational dietetic counselling skills.
Conclusion: A dialogic and person-centred communication approach can facilitate the nutrition care of cancer patients in that it helps dietitians gain insight into the patient’s perspective, and explain nutritional challenges transparently as well as it helps patients better understand the critical importance of nutrition and take action

Period	3 Sept 2021
Event title	ICD 2021: The Internation Congress of Dietetics
Event type	Conference
Degree of Recognition	International