Grant: CIHR New Investigator

Enormous scientific advances have been made in the area of nutrition, and several diets are now advocated for the management of chronic diseases including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and obesity. Patients have also become reliant on the unregulated nutrition information emerging in cyberspace, television and magazines to base their diet-related decisions. As a result, the need for patient guidance and decision support from dietitians is expected to increase in the near future. Shared decision making is defined as a decision-making process jointly shared by patients and their health professional. It aims at helping patients play an active role in decisions concerning their health and fosters the establishment of a context in which the preferences of the patient are sought and his/her opinions valued. To date, few studies have explored shared decision making in health professionals other than physicians. Therefore, this research program proposes to identify the determinants of the intention of dietitians and patients to adopt selected behaviors necessary to engage in shared decision making. Studying shared decision making in nutrition has the potential to contribute to the acquisition of skills that will allow patients to make decisions that are best for them in interaction with their dietitians, which will result in an overall improvement of the quality and effectiveness of health services and care of patients facing nutrition-related decisions.