Article type
Abstract
Background: A recent systematic review of competencies in evidence-based nutrition practice (EBNP) suggests nutrition professionals and students need additional training in EBNP (1). While successful training in evidence-based practice exists for physicians, there is a paucity of similar programs for nutrition trainees and professionals.
Objectives: To develop i) a free online EBNP skills training workshop and ii) a set of peer-reviewed Nutrition Users’ Guides (NUG) as capacity-building materials on EBNP
Methods: For the online EBNP workshop, we invited 8 leading evidence-based practice experts to develop 3 half-days of content and offered continuing education credits. Content of the workshop sessions included asking and searching the literature to answer structured clinical questions, appraising study designs (randomized/nonrandomized studies, systematic reviews, clinical practice guidelines), and understanding study results (eg, effect size, GRADE certainty and strength, client values and preferences). Based on the JAMA Users’ Guides framework (2), we also developed 3 NUG articles to guide assessments of i) randomized trials, ii) systematic reviews of nonrandomized studies, and iii) clinical practice guidelines. Each article focused on 3 core domains for assessing a nutrition research article: i) methodological quality, ii) results, and iii) applicability of results.
Results: In February 2024, we successfully completed our inaugural EBNP workshop. Each day consisted of 2 to 3 one-hour interactive sessions. Two hundred three participants from 34 countries registered, primarily registered dietitians (RDs) from the United States. The number of unique participants was 152 (day 1), 113 (day 2), and 92 (day 3). Each day, participants completed 3 multiple choice questions per speaker presentation. Correct responses were highest for GRADE (88%) and lowest for statistics (35%) (Table 1). The participants rated each speaker on a 5-point scale, with an overall mean rating of 4.58 (SD 0.11) (Table 2). Two of our 3 NUG articles are provisionally accepted with BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health; our published NUGs will be shared with workshop participants in our 2025 workshop.
Conclusions: Our first EBNP training initiative was attended by 203 participants, and evaluations were overwhelmingly positive. In future workshops, together with the NUG reading materials to build EBN capacity, we aim to evaluate specific EBNP competencies (1).
Objectives: To develop i) a free online EBNP skills training workshop and ii) a set of peer-reviewed Nutrition Users’ Guides (NUG) as capacity-building materials on EBNP
Methods: For the online EBNP workshop, we invited 8 leading evidence-based practice experts to develop 3 half-days of content and offered continuing education credits. Content of the workshop sessions included asking and searching the literature to answer structured clinical questions, appraising study designs (randomized/nonrandomized studies, systematic reviews, clinical practice guidelines), and understanding study results (eg, effect size, GRADE certainty and strength, client values and preferences). Based on the JAMA Users’ Guides framework (2), we also developed 3 NUG articles to guide assessments of i) randomized trials, ii) systematic reviews of nonrandomized studies, and iii) clinical practice guidelines. Each article focused on 3 core domains for assessing a nutrition research article: i) methodological quality, ii) results, and iii) applicability of results.
Results: In February 2024, we successfully completed our inaugural EBNP workshop. Each day consisted of 2 to 3 one-hour interactive sessions. Two hundred three participants from 34 countries registered, primarily registered dietitians (RDs) from the United States. The number of unique participants was 152 (day 1), 113 (day 2), and 92 (day 3). Each day, participants completed 3 multiple choice questions per speaker presentation. Correct responses were highest for GRADE (88%) and lowest for statistics (35%) (Table 1). The participants rated each speaker on a 5-point scale, with an overall mean rating of 4.58 (SD 0.11) (Table 2). Two of our 3 NUG articles are provisionally accepted with BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health; our published NUGs will be shared with workshop participants in our 2025 workshop.
Conclusions: Our first EBNP training initiative was attended by 203 participants, and evaluations were overwhelmingly positive. In future workshops, together with the NUG reading materials to build EBN capacity, we aim to evaluate specific EBNP competencies (1).