Table 3.
Barriers and benefits encountered by RDNs providing telenutrition during the COVID-19 pandemic.
| Barriers to Providing Telenutrition * | n | % |
|---|---|---|
| Not being able to conduct or evaluate some typical assessment or monitoring/evaluation activities | 67 | 24.4 |
| Not being able to deliver some routine nutrition interventions | 24 | 8.7 |
| Not having equipment to deliver telenutrition at home | 11 | 4.0 |
| Not having remote access to the electronic health record at home | 16 | 5.8 |
| Clients not having a telephone (landline or mobile phone) | 11 | 4.0 |
| Clients not having access to the Internet | 46 | 16.7 |
| Clients not interested in receiving telenutrition | 85 | 30.9 |
| Payer(s) do not include RDNs in their provider networks | 12 | 4.4 |
| Payer(s) do not include nutrition services in their telehealth policies | 21 | 7.6 |
| Lack of employer support | 12 | 4.4 |
| Difficulty of establishing relationships/therapeutic alliance via telehealth | 66 | 24.0 |
| Discomfort with delivering nutrition care via telehealth | 24 | 8.7 |
| None | 67 | 24.4 |
| Benefits experienced by delivering telenutrition * | ||
| Improved patient access | 122 | 44.4 |
| Scheduling flexibility | 150 | 54.5 |
| Reduced transportation costs for patients/clients | 117 | 42.5 |
| Promoting compliance with social distancing measures recommended due to COVID-19 pandemic | 177 | 64.4 |
| None | 5 | 1.8 |
* Participants (n = 275) were able to select all options that applied.