Table 6.
HN/HND Graduates' Perceptions of the Knowledge and Skills Required for Health Systems Performance
| Knowledge & Skills Themes | Expected of HN/HND Graduates (N = 132) | Gaps Amongst Individual Graduates (N = 120) | Inadequately Attained while at University (N = 100) | Recommended as Training Minimum (N = 97) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Respondents n(%)* | Respondents n(%)* | Respondents n(%)* | Respondents n(%)* | |
| Integrated management of acute malnutrition | 100(75.8) | 38(31.7) | 13(13) | 40(41.2) |
| Communication, education, and counselling | 82(62.1) | 22(18.3) | 13(13) | 27(27.8) |
| Medical/clinical nutrition therapy | 75(56.8) | 74(61.7) | 61(61) | 43(44.3) |
| Research, data analysis, proposal, and report writing | 69(52.3) | 12(10.0) | 23(23) | 19(19.6) |
| Leadership and management | 62(47) | 14(11.7) | 19(19) | 19(19.6) |
| Nutrition screening and assessment | 63(47.7) | 13(10.8) | 8(8) | 25(25.8) |
| Project planning, management, monitoring, and evaluation | 49(37.1) | 46(38.3) | 17(17) | 6(6.2) |
| Nutrition Advocacy | 46(34.8) | 12(10) | 10(10) | 13(13.4) |
| Maternal, infant, young child, and adolescent nutrition | 43(32.6) | 7(5.8) | 1(1) | 9(9.3) |
| Nutrition computing | 32(24.2) | 8(6.7) | 11(11) | 11(11.3) |
| Agribusiness | 11(8.3) | 2(1.7) | – | 3(3.1) |
| Public health | 9(6.8) | 1(0.8) | 1(1) | 3(3.1) |
| Quality improvement | 9(6.8) | – | 4(4) | – |
| Product development and food safety management | 9(6.8) | 6(5.0) | 4(4) | – |
| Records and data management | 6(4.5) | – | – | – |
| Emergency nutrition | 2(1.5) | 1(0.8) | 1(1) | – |
| Water, sanitation, and hygiene | 2(1.5) | – | – | 2(2.1) |
| Professional ethics | 1(0.8) | 4(3.3) | – | – |
| Internal medicine | – | 1(0.8) | – | – |
| Human anatomy | – | – | 7(7) | – |
* Multiple response analysis with percentage computed based on number of respondents rather than the total number of responses; HN/HND Human Nutrition/Human Nutrition and Dietetics