Table 2.
RDNa respondents’ experiences providing telehealth prior to and during the COVID-19b pandemic (N = 2016)
| Survey question | Responsesc |
|---|---|
| Provided nutrition care via telehealth prior to COVID-19 pandemic (n = 2008) | n (%) |
| Yes | 751 (37.4) |
| No | 1259 (62.6) |
| Years of experience providing nutrition care via telehealth prior to COVID-19 pandemic (n = 732)e | median (IQRd) |
| 3 (1-7) | |
| Currently providing nutrition care via telehealth (n = 2000) | n (%) |
| Yes | 1564 (78.2) |
| No | 436 (21.8) |
| Targets of current nutrition care via telehealth (n = 1574) | |
| Individuals | 1308 (83.1) |
| Groups | 21 (1.3) |
| Both individuals and groups | 245 (15.6) |
| Current modalities used to provide nutrition care via telehealth (n = 1578) | |
| Telephone (audio only) | 554 (35.1) |
| Audiovisual | 256 (16.2) |
| Both | 768 (48.7) |
| Audiovisual options used to provide nutrition care via telehealthfg(n = 1024) | |
| Zoom | 273 (13.5) |
| Audiovisual capability built into the electronic health record | 187 (9.3) |
| Zoom for Healthcare | 171 (8.4) |
| Doxy.me | 156 (7.7) |
| Apple FaceTime | 147 (7.3) |
| Cisco WebEx Meetings/WebEx Teams | 120 (5.9) |
| Otherh | 450 (22.1) |
| Currently providing nutrition care via telehealth outside state where licensed to practice (n = 1595) | |
| Yes | 228 (14.4) |
| No | 1311 (83.1) |
| Not sure | 39 (2.5) |
| median (IQR) | |
| Average minutes spent having direct client(s) contact during telehealth sessions (n = 1509) | 30 (20-45) |
| Types of nutrition assessmentiand/or monitoring and evaluationjconducted via telehealth (n = 2038)g | n (%) |
| Food and nutrition related history | 1414 (70.1) |
| Knowledge/beliefs/attitudes | 1219 (60.4) |
| Client history | 1188 (58.9) |
| Behavior | 1182 (58.7) |
| Assessment/monitoring/evaluation tools | 1132 (56.1) |
| Physical activity and function | 1108 (55.0) |
| Factors affecting access to food and food/nutrition related supplies | 1059 (51.7) |
| Biochemical data, medical tests, and procedures | 940 (46.6) |
| Medication and complementary/alternative medicine use | 928 (46.0) |
| Anthropometric measurements | 785 (38.9) |
| Food and nutrient administration | 621 (30.8) |
| Nutrition-focused physical findings | 363 (18.0) |
| Types of nutrition interventionskprovided via telehealth (n = 2038)g | |
| Nutrition counseling | 1459 (72.4) |
| Nutrition education | 1388 (68.9) |
| Nutrition prescription | 920 (45.6) |
| Nutrition supplement therapy | 688 (34.1) |
| Coordination of nutrition care by a nutrition professional | 624 (31.0) |
| Food and/or nutrient delivery | 527 (26.1) |
| Enteral and parenteral nutrition | 326 (16.2) |
| Population-based nutrition action | 127 (6.3) |
| Method of communicating results of telehealth back to referring medical providerg | |
| I document the interaction through an electronic medical record | 1249 (62.0) |
| I send an e-mail to the medical provider | 293 (14.5) |
| I send a fax to the medical provider | 285 (14.1) |
| I call the medical provider’s office | 220 (10.9) |
| I do not communicate the interaction | 115 (5.7) |
| Other (open text)l | 216 (10.7) |
RDN = registered dietitian nutritionist.
COVID-19 = coronavirus disease 2019.
Does not include missing responses.
IQR = interquartile range.
For respondents who indicated they provided nutrition care via telehealth prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
For respondents who indicated they provided nutrition care via telehealth using audiovisual.
Respondents were able to select all options that applied.
Other responses included, but were not limited to, audiovisual as a component of Healthie; audiovisual as a component of Practice Better; audiovisual as a component of Kalix; audiovisual as a component of Simple Practice; audiovisual as a component of other practice management software; Facebook Messenger video chat; Google G Suite Hangouts Meet; Google Hangouts video; GoToMeeting; Skype for Business; Skype; Spruce Health Care Messenger; Updox; and VSee.
Nutrition assessment, the first step of the nutrition care process, is a systematic approach to collect, classify, and synthesize important and relevant data needed to identify nutrition-related problems and their causes.
Nutrition monitoring and evaluation follows nutrition intervention in the nutrition care process and identifies outcomes/indicators relevant to the diagnosis and nutrition intervention plans and goals.
A nutrition intervention follows nutrition diagnosis in the nutrition care process and is a purposefully planned action(s) designed with the intent of changing a nutrition-related behavior, risk factor, environmental condition, or aspect of health status to resolve or improve the identified nutrition diagnosis(es) or nutrition problem(s).
Open text responses primarily described verbal reports during telehealth conferences, face-to-face meetings or individual telephone calls, as well as texts, e-mails, and written reports.