Nutrition knowledge, attitude and practice among primary care physicians in Taiwan

Objective: To investigate nutritional knowledge, attitude and practices among primary care physicians in the Taiwan area. Method: A closed-end questionnaire containing 26 knowledge questions. 12 attitude statements and 12 practice statements was mailed to physicians on the mailing list of the National Health Administration (NHA). Results: The data reported are based on the responses of 27% of the total 1210 primary care physicians in the Taiwan area. Physicians answered 59% of the total knowledge questions correctly, with a tendency to score higher on general knowledge than clinical nutrition. The majority of physicians tended to agree with the positive-attitude statements and disagree with the negative-attitude statements. The performance of physicians regarding personal practices was less than that for job-related practices. Conclusions: This nationwide survey of nutrition- related knowledge and practices demonstrates the need for nutrition education for physicians. The questionnaire may be a useful instrument for future educational strategies in Taiwan.