ABSTRACT
Individualized
Nutritional Care (INC) is a personalized approach to nutritional management
that considers a patient’s specific needs, preferences, values, and health
goals. The four key pillars of INC include understanding what matters to
patients, shared decision-making, evidence-informed multi-modal nutritional
care, and effective monitoring of outcomes. This study aimed to determine the
socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of respondents, their awareness
of INC, its effectiveness, limitations, and possible ways to improve
individualized nutritional counseling. A cross-sectional study design was
adopted, and data were collected using a validated and well-structured
questionnaire. The data obtained were analyzed using SPSS version 21, employing
descriptive statistics such as percentages and frequencies. The results were
presented using tables for better clarity. The findings of this study indicate
that the dominant age group among respondents was between 45 and 54 years
(23.8%). The study also showed that male respondents were the majority,
comprising 57.7% of the population, while female respondents made up 42.3%.
Additionally, most of the respondents were married (56.9%). In terms of educational
background, more than half (59.2%) of the respondents had attained tertiary
education, while 37.7% had only a secondary education. Only a small fraction,
about 3.1%, had no formal education. Regarding occupation, the study revealed
that 37.7% of the respondents were civil servants, 13.1% were artisans, and
16.2% were pensioners. The income distribution showed that 28.5% of the
respondents earned between 30,000 and 60,000 naira per month, while 20.5%
earned between 61,000 and 90,000 naira. Only 13.8% of the respondents reported
earning 151,000 naira and above.
In
terms of awareness of INC, the study found that 70.8% of the respondents were
aware of individualized nutritional counseling. However, despite this
awareness, only 45.4% had participated in a counseling session with a
dietitian, while 54.6% had never engaged in such a session. Furthermore, the
study found that a significant number of respondents were living with chronic
diseases. About 33.1% of the respondents suffered from diabetes mellitus, while
36.9% had kidney diseases, and 25.4% suffered from cardiovascular diseases. A
small percentage (3.1% and 1.5%) suffered from two diseases simultaneously. The
study also examined the challenges in implementing individualized nutritional
counseling. More than half of the respondents (87.7%) acknowledged that there
were limitations to actualizing individualized nutritional counseling, while
only 12.3% stated that they faced no limitations. Among those who faced
challenges, 30.8% indicated that they had little or no money to purchase the
recommended food products, 13.8% reported that they could not afford daily
routine check-ups, and 26.9% noted that the recommended food items were not
available in their local stores. Regarding possible improvements in nutritional
counseling, the majority (86.9%) of the respondents suggested that hospitals
should improve their services, while only 13.1% disagreed. Additionally, 51.5%
of the respondents believed that patients needing individualized nutritional
counseling should be placed in different wards, whereas 23.8% disagreed with
this idea. The study further revealed that 80% of the respondents attended
their routine check-ups, while 20% did not. On the effectiveness of INC, 40.8%
of those who had received counseling reported seeing a change in their health,
while 46.2% had not noticed any significant improvement. Based on these
findings, the study recommends increased sensitization of healthcare
practitioners regarding their specific roles and responsibilities. This will help
ensure that each healthcare professional focuses on their assigned duties,
reducing workload and improving the quality of care provided. Furthermore, more
awareness should be created about individualized nutritional counseling to
enhance understanding and encourage both patients and healthcare practitioners
to embrace it.
CHIGEMEZU, E (2025). Individualised Nutritional Counselling And Management Of Diabetes Mellitus, Cardiovascular Diseases, And Kidney Diseases Of Out-Patients In The Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia:- Chukwuma, Chigemezu E. Mouau.afribary.org: Retrieved Jul 23, 2025, from https://repository.mouau.edu.ng/work/view/individualised-nutritional-counselling-and-management-of-diabetes-mellitus-cardiovascular-diseases-and-kidney-diseases-of-out-patients-in-the-federal-medical-centre-umuahia-chukwuma-chigemezu-e-7-2
EGO, CHIGEMEZU. "Individualised Nutritional Counselling And Management Of Diabetes Mellitus, Cardiovascular Diseases, And Kidney Diseases Of Out-Patients In The Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia:- Chukwuma, Chigemezu E" Mouau.afribary.org. Mouau.afribary.org, 10 Jul. 2025, https://repository.mouau.edu.ng/work/view/individualised-nutritional-counselling-and-management-of-diabetes-mellitus-cardiovascular-diseases-and-kidney-diseases-of-out-patients-in-the-federal-medical-centre-umuahia-chukwuma-chigemezu-e-7-2. Accessed 23 Jul. 2025.
EGO, CHIGEMEZU. "Individualised Nutritional Counselling And Management Of Diabetes Mellitus, Cardiovascular Diseases, And Kidney Diseases Of Out-Patients In The Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia:- Chukwuma, Chigemezu E". Mouau.afribary.org, Mouau.afribary.org, 10 Jul. 2025. Web. 23 Jul. 2025. < https://repository.mouau.edu.ng/work/view/individualised-nutritional-counselling-and-management-of-diabetes-mellitus-cardiovascular-diseases-and-kidney-diseases-of-out-patients-in-the-federal-medical-centre-umuahia-chukwuma-chigemezu-e-7-2 >.
EGO, CHIGEMEZU. "Individualised Nutritional Counselling And Management Of Diabetes Mellitus, Cardiovascular Diseases, And Kidney Diseases Of Out-Patients In The Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia:- Chukwuma, Chigemezu E" Mouau.afribary.org (2025). Accessed 23 Jul. 2025. https://repository.mouau.edu.ng/work/view/individualised-nutritional-counselling-and-management-of-diabetes-mellitus-cardiovascular-diseases-and-kidney-diseases-of-out-patients-in-the-federal-medical-centre-umuahia-chukwuma-chigemezu-e-7-2