Dietary knowledge and practice in patients undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis

Abstract

Adhering to multiple dietary recommendations may be difficult to follow but crucial in maintaining optimal nutritional status in patients on Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis (CAPD). Adherence to these recommendations require patients to have a clear knowledge on type, quality, and quantity of food they consume. Objectives were to assess the participants‘ dietary practices and dietary knowledge on foods they consume. This cross-sectional study was conducted on randomly selected 102 CAPD patients at National Hospital, Kandy. An interviewer-administrated questionnaire and a food frequency questionnaire were used to collect dietary data. Daily dietary intake was compared with European Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition guideline recommendations. Knowledge on food sources were assessed in relation to protein, calories, potassium, phosphorus, and sodium. The mean age of the participants was 54.91±12.57 years and 35.3% (n=36) were females. Percentage of participants who had a poor knowledge on nutrients were; protein (44.11%), phosphorus (95.09%), calorie (98.03%), sodium (67.64%), potassium-fruits (51.9%) and potassium-vegetables (60.78%). Dietary practice was described in relation to adherence to guideline recommendations. A minority who had a good knowledge on nutrient components in consuming foods also did not always follow good practices. Dietary practice was significantly associated with monthly income (p=0.007), age (p=0.01) and treatment duration (p=0.046). Majority of the participants had a poor awareness of deciding daily amount of food allowances predominantly for protein (96.1%), phosphorus (85.3%) and potassium (81.4%) resulting in unsatisfactory dietary practices. Majority [80.4% (n=82)] had a poor knowledge on nutrient composition in foods they consume. The participants whose knowledge was good also had unsatisfactory dietary practices proving that good knowledge does not always translate to better practice. Therefore, dissemination of proper knowledge is important. An effective education model on nutrition could be easily implemented through nursing officers, with the support of multidisciplinary team involving nutritionists, medical doctors, and counselors.