Cent Eur J Public Health 2025, 33(3):193-199 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a8605

Limited awareness about the role of dietitians among medical students: a qualitative study

Victoria H. Hawk1, Zlata Kapounová2, Martin Krobot2, Veronika Zelenková2, Lauren Haldeman1
1 Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, USA
2 Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic

Objectives: Dietitians are well qualified to work as nutrition professionals on interprofessional healthcare teams and to provide education to health professionals at academic institutions. However, opportunities for the knowledge and utilization of dietitians in health care are different around the world. With rising global rates of nutrition-related diseases and the availability of university-based dietetic programmes, it is important to consider factors that may impact opportunities for dietitians in different countries. Thus, this study aimed to explore perceptions about the role of dietitians in medical care and medical education in the Czech Republic.

Methods: Thirty-six students and faculty members from a Czech medical school participated in semi-structured interviews focusing on the role of dietitians. Interviews were transcribed, coded, and analysed using thematic analysis.

Results: From the central theme regarding the perceived role of dietitians in medical care and education, three sub-themes emerged: limited awareness and interaction in the clinical setting; importance in interprofessional care; and essential member of the medical school faculty.

Conclusions: Participants expressed support for dietitians in interprofessional collaboration and medical education but identified that they had limited interaction clinically and a lack of awareness about their role as nutrition experts in medical care. To support dietitians' involvement in interprofessional collaboration and to combat and improve outcomes for nutrition-related diseases, additional research is needed to recognize possible barriers along with identifying and assessing strategies to increase awareness and recognition among medical students and faculty about the role of dietitians in medical care.

Keywords: role of dietitians, medical school, nutrition education, qualitative research, interprofessional collaboration

Received: March 27, 2025; Revised: July 28, 2025; Accepted: July 28, 2025; Published: September 30, 2025  Show citation

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Hawk VH, Kapounová Z, Krobot M, Zelenková V, Haldeman L. Limited awareness about the role of dietitians among medical students: a qualitative study. Cent Eur J Public Health. 2025;33(3):193-199. doi: 10.21101/cejph.a8605.
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