Strengthening Undergraduate Human Nutrition and Dietetics Training in Uganda: The Need to Adopt Competency-Based Education

et al. 2021

BMC Health Serv Res

Background Effective implementation of nutrition and dietetics interventions necessitates professionals in these fields to possess the requisite competencies for health systems performance. This study explored the stakeholders’ perceptions of the community nutrition and dietetics needs, the nature of work done by graduates of the Bachelor’s degree in Human Nutrition/Human Nutrition and Dietetics (HN/HND), and the competencies required of Nutrition and Dietetics professionals in Uganda. Methods A cross-sectional mixed methods design was used. Respondents included 132 graduates of the Bachelor’s degrees in HN/HND obtained from the Makerere and Kyambogo Universities in 2005–2016; 14 academic staff that train HN/HND in the two universities; and 11 HN/HND work/internship supervisors. Data from the graduates was collected through an email-based survey; data from other participants was through face to face interviews using researcher administered questionnaires. Results Most HN/HND respondents (84.8%) obtained their Bachelor’s degrees from Kyambogo University; 61.4% graduated in 2013–2016. Most (64.3%) academic staff respondents were females and the majority (57.1%) had doctorate training. All stakeholders viewed communities as facing a variety of nutrition and dietetics challenges cutting across different Sustainable Development Goals. The nutrition and dietetics interventions requested for, provided, and considered a priority for communities were both nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive. Work done by HN/HND graduates encompassed seven main competency domains; the dominant being organizational leadership and management; management of nutrition-related disease conditions; nutrition and health promotion; research; and advocacy, communication, and awareness creation. Conclusions This study shows that nutrition and dietetics challenges in Uganda are multiple and multifaceted; HN/HND graduates are employed in different sectors, provide nutrition-specific and sensitive services in a multisectoral environment, and are expected to possess a variety of knowledge and skills. However, graduates have knowledge and skills gaps in some of the areas they are expected to exhibit competency. We recommend using these findings as a basis for obtaining stakeholder consensus on the key competencies that should be exhibited by all HN/HND graduates in Uganda; developing a HN/HND competency-based education model and a national HN/HND training and practice standard; and undertaking further research to understand the quality and relevancy of HN/HND curricula to Uganda’s job market requirements.

Section: (Continued From Previous Page)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: (Continued From Previous Page)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Stakeholders’ perceptions of the nutrition and dietetics needs and the requisite professional competencies in Uganda: a cross-sectional mixed methods study

et al. 2021

BMC Health Serv Res

“…Although the possession of knowledge and skills required for health systems performance is key for all health professionals [20], whether undergraduates can possess all the expected/required competencies by the time they graduate is contested. In the United States of America, the development of skills by Nutrition and Dietetics professionals was envisaged to occur in different phases; from one being a novice, progressing to the level of an advanced beginner, to becoming competent, pro cient and in the end an expert [19,48]. Based on this view, it can be assumed that de ning who a competent Nutrition and Dietetics graduate depends on what is stipulated in the existent national or institutional training standards/curriculum.…”

Section: Nutrition and Dietetic Services Requested And Provided To Comentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To date, however, limited research has been undertaken to understand the knowledge and skills required of Nutrition and Dietetics professionals to operate in Uganda's multisectoral nutrition implementation context. In our recently published paper, we realised that efforts to develop and adopt CBE in Uganda had mainly been demonstrated in medical training and consequently recommended the need to identify and evaluate the competencies required of Human Nutrition/Human Nutrition and Dietetics (HN/HND) graduates as well as adopt CBE in the training of HN/HND in Uganda [19]. To achieve this, an understanding of the stakeholders' perceptions is vital [27].…”

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confidence: 99%

Stakeholders’ Perceptions of the Nutrition and Dietetics Needs and the Requisite Professional Competencies in Uganda: A Cross-Sectional Mixed Methods Study

et al. 2020

Preprint

Background: Effective implementation of nutrition and dietetics interventions necessitates professionals in these fields to possess the requisite competencies for health systems performance. This study explored the stakeholders’ perceptions of the community nutrition and dietetics needs, the nature of work done by graduates of the Bachelor’s degree in Human Nutrition/Human Nutrition and Dietetics (HN/HND), and the competencies required of Nutrition and Dietetics professionals in Uganda.Methods: A cross-sectional mixed methods design was used. Respondents included 132 graduates of the Bachelor’s degrees in HN/HND obtained from the Makerere and Kyambogo Universities during the period 2005–2017; 14 academic staff that train HN/HND in the two universities; and 10 HN/HND work/internship supervisors. Data from the graduates was collected through an email-based survey while that from other participants was through face to face interviews using a structured key informant interview guide.Results: Most HN/HND respondents (84.8%) obtained their Bachelor's degrees from Kyambogo University and 61.4% graduated in the years 2013–2017. Most (64.3%) academic staff that responded were females and the majority (57.1%) had doctorate training. All stakeholders viewed communities as facing a variety of nutrition and dietetics challenges some of which fall across different Sustainable Development Goals. The nutrition and dietetics interventions requested, provided, and considered a priority to provide to communities were both nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive. Work done by HN/HND graduates encompassed seven main domains; the dominant being organizational leadership and management; management of nutrition-related disease conditions; nutrition and health promotion; research and documentation; and advocacy, communication, and awareness. The knowledge and skills expected of graduates varied but graduates exhibited knowledge and skills gaps in the main areas they are expected to be competent.Conclusions: This study summarises the stakeholders’ perceptions of the nutrition and dietetics challenges faced in Uganda; provided nutrition and dietetic services; nature of work and job roles performed by HN/HND graduates; and the knowledge and skills and related gaps amongst HN/HND graduates practicing in Uganda. We recommend using these findings as a basis for undertaking further stakeholder dialogues towards the development of a competency-based education model suitable for use in strengthening nutrition and dietetics training in Uganda.

“…In line with the recommendation to improve the training of health professionals for the 21st century [20], it is worth noting that countries are increasingly adopting CBE in the training of their Nutrition and Dietetics professionals to equip graduates with the knowledge and skills required for health systems performance [53][54][55][56][57][58][59]. The adoption of CBE in HN/HND training in Africa is however still low [19] but has since been embraced by countries like South Africa [60].…”

Section: Knowledge and Skills Required Of Hn/hnd Undergraduates For Hmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stakeholders’ Perceptions of the Nutrition and Dietetics Needs and the Requisite Professional Competencies in Uganda: A Cross-Sectional Mixed Methods Study

et al. 2020

Preprint

Background: Effective implementation of nutrition and dietetics interventions necessitates professionals in these fields to possess the requisite competencies for health systems performance. This study explored the stakeholders’ perceptions of the community nutrition and dietetics needs, the nature of work done by graduates of the Bachelor’s degree in Human Nutrition/Human Nutrition and Dietetics (HN/HND), and the competencies required of Nutrition and Dietetics professionals in Uganda. Methods: A cross-sectional mixed methods design was used. Respondents included 132 graduates of the Bachelor’s degrees in HN/HND obtained from the Makerere and Kyambogo Universities in 2005-2016; 14 academic staff that train HN/HND in the two universities; and 11 HN/HND work/internship supervisors. Data from the graduates was collected through an email-based survey; data from other participants was through face to face interviews using researcher administered questionnaires. Results: Most HN/HND respondents (84.8%) obtained their Bachelor's degrees from Kyambogo University; 61.4% graduated in 2013-2016. Most (64.3%) academic staff respondents were females and the majority (57.1%) had doctorate training. All stakeholders viewed communities as facing a variety of nutrition and dietetics challenges cutting across different Sustainable Development Goals. The nutrition and dietetics interventions requested for, provided, and considered a priority for communities were both nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive. Work done by HN/HND graduates encompassed seven main competency domains; the dominant being organizational leadership and management; management of nutrition-related disease conditions; nutrition and health promotion; research; and advocacy, communication, and awareness creation. Conclusions: This study shows that nutrition and dietetics challenges in Uganda are multifaceted. HN/HND graduates are employed in different sectors; provide nutrition-specific and sensitive services in a multisectoral environment; are expected to possess a variety of knowledge and skills. However, graduates have knowledge and skills gaps in some areas they are expected to exhibit competency. We recommend using these findings as a basis for obtaining stakeholder consensus on the key competencies that should be exhibited by all HN/HND graduates in Uganda; developing a HN/HND competency-based education model and a national HN/HND training and practice standard, and undertaking further research to understand the quality and relevancy of HN/HND curricula to Uganda’s job market requirements.