Study of the Working Situations and Required Skill Sets of Dietitians Working in the Food Supply Chain

Oomiya Megumi, Kiyohara Akiko, Kinoyama Maki

doi:10.5264/eiyogakuzashi.70.173

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the working situation and the required knowledge and skills of the dieticians who are working in the food supply chain, including food processors, retailers, wholesalers, and food serveries.<br>Methods: We designed a two-round questionnaires for 186 and 147 dietitians (first and second rounds) working in the food supply chain, using the Delphi technique. The first survey period was from the middle of April to the end of June 2010, and the second period was from the middle of August to the beginning of October 2010. The content analysis method was used to analyze the descriptive data.<br>Results: We got 147 answers from the 186 subjects in the first survey (response rate 79%, 141 valid responses), and 83 answers from the 147 subjects in the second survey (response rate 56%, 81 valid responses). Many of the dietitians working in the food supply chain belonged to sales, research and development, and marketing departments, and worked to inform their clients about nutrition and health. The results of the content analysis showed 31 categories of required knowledge and skills for dietitians, including “skills of communication, and hearing, understanding the clients”</b> and “deep knowledge of nutrition and dietetics.”<br>Conclusions: This study suggests that high-level communication skills are required for dietitians in the food supply chain. More specifically, they are required to have deep technical knowledge of nutrition and health and communicate this knowledge to their clients in plain terms.

Study of the Working Situations and Required Skill Sets of Dietitians Working in the Food Supply Chain

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