Necessary Knowledge and Skills for Dietitians in Saudi Arabia: A Qualitative Study

Background: Dietitians play a major role in health promotion and chronic diseases prevention. Graduates from clinical nutrition and dietetics major should be equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills for their role to be more effective. The purpose of this study is to investigate the knowledge and skills needed by current and future graduates in clinical nutrition and dietetics.
Methods: In this qualitative study, structured interviews by focus groups were conducted. Dietitians from different governmental and private sectors were invited to participate in the study. Focus groups were stratified based on the participants’ gender and years of experience to promote self-disclosure. Abridged transcript of relevant and useful points was performed. The transcripts were coded and cross-validated by two researchers.
Results: A total of four focus groups were conducted. Two focus groups comprise 9 male participants and the other two comprise 10 females. The age of participants ranged 25–40 years old. Participants were employees in Riyadh city with experience that ranged 3–10 years old. Nine themes of the necessary knowledge and skills were identified.
Conclusion: It is recommended for the Saudi government to create standards specialised for clinical nutrition and dietetics undergraduate and graduate programmes.

Keywords
knowledge and skills; dietitians; clinical nutrition; focus group; Saudi Arabia