Croskey & Clark’s article addresses the significance of nutrition for overall health and the limited attention it receives in primary care, which is often discussed only in the context of obesity. The article proposes a pilot intervention to systematically assess and discuss diet patterns during routine primary care visits. This intervention has two components: evaluating eating habits and stage of change, and a personalized dietary conversation that is based on the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change (TMC) and motivational interviewing (MI). It took place at a rural primary care clinic and appropriately escalated the level of patients’ willingness to change their diets.
The article is connected with TMC because it applies its principles to a protocol for communicating about diet with primary care providers. The TMC highlights that people move through distinct stages of the behavior change continuum, from pre-contemplation to maintenance. In this intervention, the stage of change of patients regarding their dietary habits is assessed using a readiness ruler, which further guides the course of the intervention based on individual preferences, needs, and motivations. The intervention is intended to improve the effectiveness of dietary counseling and encourage the adoption of new health behaviors by recognizing patients’ varying levels of commitment and addressing their specific needs.
This article is relevant for Nurse Practitioners (NP) because it reinforces the value of considering nutrition in primary care settings beyond mere weight control. NPs are well-positioned to introduce dietary assessments and consultations into routine healthcare visits to improve holistic care while also preventing disease. NPs can also make use of the intervention with the cornerstone of TMC and MI to personalize diet conversations according to the patient’s preferences and readiness to change.
Reference
Croskey, O., & Clark, M. K. (2023). Individualized diet conversation in primary care: A pilot intervention. The Nurse Practitioner, 48(4), 38–46.