Nutrition knowledge, attitudes and practices among senior medical students in Taiwan

Objective: Nutrition is an important issue in medical training, but the nutritional knowledge, attitudes and practices of medical students in Taiwan have not been elucidated. Methods: This investigation was a need assessment that examined knowledge, attitude and practices of medical students in selected areas of nutrition. A national sample of 528 senior medical students from nine medical colleges in Taiwan participated in this study by completing a questionnaire. Results: On a 10-point scale, the average scow of students on general and clinical nutritional knowledge was 5.99 ± 1.51 and 5.15 ± 1.77, respectively. The percentage of correct answers from questionnaires in both areas was 60% and 52%, respectively. Seventy-seven percent or more of the students reported that they either agreed or strongly agreed with four positive-attitude statements and either disagreed or strongly disagreed with two out of three negative-attitude statements. Between 30% and 61% of the students reported that they practice on nutrition-related individual behaviors. Conclusions: The knowledge, attitudes and practices of senior medical students in Taiwan suggest the need for education strategies to improve competence in the area of nutrition.