Future Dietitian 2025: informing the development of a workforce strategy for dietetics

Abstract

Background: Healthcare is changing and the professions that deliver it need to adapt and change too. The aim of this research was to inform the development of a workforce strategy for Dietetics for 2020-2030. This included an understanding of the drivers for change, the views of stakeholders and recommendations to prepare the profession for the future. Methods: The research included three phases: (i) establishing the context which included a literature and document review (environmental scan); (ii) discovering the profession and professional issues using crowd-sourcing technology; and (iii) articulating the vision for the future using appreciative inquiry. Results: The environmental scan described the current status of the dietetic profession, the changing healthcare environment, the context in which dietitians work and what future opportunities exist for the profession. The online conversation facilitated by crowd-sourcing technology asked the question: 'How can dietitians strengthen their future role, influence and impact?' Dietitians and interested stakeholders (726 and 109, respectively) made 6130 contributions. Seven priorities were identified and fed into the appreciative inquiry event. The event bought together 54 dietitians and analysis of the discussions generated five themes: (i) professional identity; (ii) strong foundations-creating structure and direction for the profession; (iii) amplifying visibility and influence; (iv) embracing advances in science and technology; and (v) career advancement and emerging opportunities. Conclusions: A series of recommendations were made for the next steps in moving the workforce to a new future. The future for dietetics looks bright, embracing technology, as well as exploring different ways of working and new opportunities, as this dynamic profession continues to evolve.

eHealth readiness of dietitians

“…The importance of preparing the profession for the future of eHealth was also highlighted by Hickson et al (2017) who identified 'embracing advances in science and technology as one of the five themes to inform the development of a workforce strategy for 2020-2030 for dietetics' (37) . Their recommendation specifically related to technology to prepare the profession for the future, was: 'Consider how to support dietitians to keep pace with technological advances and how to facilitate the uptake of new technology, including expanding the evidence base.…”

Challenges in preparing the dietetics workforce of the future: An exploration of dietetics educators’ experiences

“…Recent research commissioned by national dietetics bodies in the USA, the UK and Canada has attempted to inform dietetics workforce development and hypothesise on the future direction of the profession. However, to the authors’ knowledge, no national approaches to date have broadly explored dietetics workforce preparation and the impact of associated challenges from the perspective of dietetics educators.…”

Changes in nutrition and dietetic research: A content analysis of the past decade of Dietitians Association of Australia conference abstracts

“…While this analysis indicates that the research presented at the DAA conference is largely practice driven, the research is undoubtedly important in developing the evidence base that underpins nutrition and dietetic practice . Limited availability of competitive grant round funding poses challenges to undertake large and complex high‐quality studies that continue to extend the evidence base .…”