Natl. J. Physiol. Pharm. Pharmacol. (2025), Vol. 15(1): 107-113

Original Research

10.5455/NJPPP.2025.v15.i1.19

A cross-sectional study to assess nutrition knowledge, attitude, and practice among first year nursing undergraduates of KLE Institute of Nursing College Belagavi

M. Sayli Kore¹, S. D. Vijaya², Nirmala Anand^2*, Mubashir Angolkar¹, M. Bhagyashree¹, Dhruv Goltekar³, Yagya Singh³ and Falaq Paloji³

¹Department of Public Health, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College (JNMC), Belagavi, India

²Department of Physiology, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College (JNMC), Belagavi, India

³Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College (JNMC), Belagavi, India

*Corresponding Author: Nirmala Anand. Department of Physiology, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College (JNMC), Belagavi, India. Email: drnirm79 [at] gmail.com.

Submitted: 19/05/2024 Accepted: 09/12/2024 Published: 31/01/2025

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Abstract

Background: Nursing is a life-sustaining profession for the health of the community. Nursing students, generally between the age group of 17 and 22 years, come in the category of adolescents and young adults.

Introduction: Nutritional status is affected by nutritional knowledge and habits.

Objective: To determine nutrition knowledge, attitude, and practice among undergraduates of Nursing first-year students from KLE Institute of Nursing College Belagavi.

Methodology: A cross-sectional study on the assessment of nutritional knowledge, attitude, and practice among first-year nursing students from KLE Institute of Nursing College Belagavi. The information on nutritional knowledge, attitude, and practice with demographic profiles was collected using a questionnaire. Both male and female students participated in the study, and informed consent was taken from the participants. Data were analyzed using chi-square test.

Results: Among 93 nursing first-year students, the majority were females 60 (65.2%). Students have an average nutrition knowledge of 41 (44.6%), i.e., >Mean – SD to Mean + SD and almost all students have the same practice and attitude toward nutrition is also average 72 (78.3%) >Mean – SD to Mean + SD.

Conclusion: The present study concluded that most of the first-year nursing students from the Institute of Nursing College Belagavi had average nutrition knowledge and all of them had the same practices toward nutrition and their attitude was average the same.

Keywords: Nursing students, nutritional knowledge, attitude, practice.

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Introduction

Background information : role of nurses in nutrition care

Nurses play a pivotal role in promoting health and preventing disease through nutrition.

They provide nutritional advice, monitor patient dietary intake, and support patients in making healthy lifestyle choices.

Need for nutrition knowledge

Adequate nutrition knowledge is crucial for nurses to effectively counsel and manage patients’ dietary needs.

Proper nutrition education helps in the early detection and intervention of malnutrition and diet-related diseases.

Objectives of the study

Assessing knowledge

To evaluate the baseline nutrition knowledge of first-year nursing undergraduates.

Evaluating attitudes

To understand the students’ attitudes toward the importance of nutrition in healthcare.

This involves their perceptions of the relevance of nutrition education to their future professional roles.

Examining practices

To identify the dietary practices of the students.

This includes their personal eating habits and how they apply their nutrition knowledge in daily life.

It is important to know the current nutrition knowledge level among healthcare professionals for successful health promotion. Nursing may be a life-sustaining profession and the nursing students are the future role models of health for the community. Nursing students, generally between the age group of 17 and 22 years, come in the category of adolescents and young adults.

Knowledge, Attitude, Practice, KAP Model

Knowledge

Knowledge is the capacity to acquire, retain, and use information; a mixture of comprehension, experience, discernment, and skill.

Attitude

Attitude refers to inclinations to react in a certain way to certain situations; to see and interpret events according to certain predispositions; or to organize opinions into coherent and interrelated structures.

Practice

By practice, we mean the application of rules and knowledge that leads to action. Good practice is an art that is linked to the progress of knowledge and technology and is executed in an ethical manner.

Nurses spend more time with the patients hence their understanding of nutrition and their practice of good eating habits is highly essential. Many patients have high expectations of nurses and are more likely to listen to and follow the instructions of nurses who are modeling healthy lifestyles they need to adopt themselves. 10 Hence, this study was undertaken to assess the nutritional knowledge, practice, and attitude among first-year nursing students at KLE Institute of Nursing College Belagavi.

Gap in knowledge

Basic nutritional concepts

Lack of understanding of macronutrients and micronutrients

Many students may not fully understand the functions and dietary sources of essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals.

Caloric needs and metabolism

Students might have limited knowledge about daily caloric requirements and factors that influence metabolism.

Dietary guidelines and recommendations

National and International dietary guidelines

There could be a lack of familiarity with guidelines such as those from the World Health Organization or local government recommendations.

Portion sizes and food groups

Understanding of appropriate portion sizes and balanced meal planning might be inadequate.

Nutrition and disease prevention

Role of nutrition in preventing chronic diseases

Limited awareness of how diet can prevent or manage conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases.

Malnutrition and deficiencies

Incomplete knowledge about the signs, symptoms, and management of malnutrition and nutrient deficiencies.

Specialized diets and populations

Dietary needs across life span

Insufficient information on the specific nutritional needs of different age groups, including infants, children, pregnant women, and the elderly.

Clinical nutrition

Lack of exposure to therapeutic diets used in clinical settings for patients with specific medical conditions.

Table 1. Socio-demographic profile of nursing first year students.

These gaps highlight the need for enhanced nutrition education in the nursing curriculum.

Incorporating more comprehensive and practical nutrition training modules can address these deficiencies.

Reason for doing this study

Ethical clearance- The proposed research project entitled “A cross sectional study to assess nutritional knowledge, attitude, and practice among 1^st year nursing undergraduates of KLE Institute of Nursing College, Belagavi.” has been cleared by the JNMC Institutional Ethics Committee on Human Subjects Research.

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Materials and Methods

Study design

Cross-sectional study.

Table 2. Association of level of nutritional knowledge among nursing first-year students.

Table 3. Association of level of attitude toward nutrition among nursing first-year students.

Source of data

Nursing undergraduate first-year students from KLE Institute of Nursing College Belagavi.

Study period

March 2020 - April 2021.

Data collection period

November 2020 - February 2021.

Study population

Nursing first-year students, aged between 17 and 21 years both male and female from KLE Institute of Nursing College Belagavi.

Sample size

92 students of first-year nursing students’ batch of 2020-21.

Ethical clearance

Obtained from Institutional ethics committee JNMC, Belagavi. Ref no; MDC/DOME/394, Date; 18/05/2020.

Inclusion criteria

Nursing first-year students from KLE Institute of Nursing College Belagavi and willing to participate were enrolled in this study.

Exclusion criteria

Students who had not given informed consent and were not willing to participate were excluded from the study.

Data collection tool

A questionnaire was used for data collection which was pre-designed, and pre-tested.

The structured questionnaire had questions related to general demographics information, nutrition knowledge, attitude, and practice.

Data collection procedure

Information on socio-demographics, nutrition knowledge, attitude, and practice was collected.

Data analysis

Data were entered into SPSS software and analyzed.

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Results

Socio-demographic profile of nursing first-year students

Out of 92 participants, 32 (34.8%) were males, whereas 60 (65.2%) females participated, respectively. 88 (95.7%) of students are <=20 years and 4 (4.3%) are 21+ years old (Table 1).

Association of level of nutritional knowledge among nursing first-year students

It shows among 92 students, 27 (29.3%) of students have poor nutrition knowledge status, i.e., ≤ Mean – SD, average knowledge is about 41 (44.6%), i.e., >Mean – SD to Mean + SD and 24 (26.1%) students have the high knowledge regarding nutrition, i.e., > Mean + SD (Table 2).

Association of level of attitude towards nutrition among nursing first-year students

It shows that out of 92 students, 14 (15.2%) of students have poor attitudes towards nutrition 72(78.3%) have average knowledge, and about 6 (6.5%) students had high attitudes towards nutrition(Table 3).

Association between the socio-demographic variables and nutritional knowledge of first-year nursing students

There is a significant association found between socio-demographic variables and nutritional knowledge among first-year nursing students, but there was a significant association found with age of the students and knowledge at p=0.422, gender and nutrition knowledge at p=398 and significant found with religion and knowledge at p=0.203, place of birth and knowledge at p=0.248 and No. of family members and nutrition knowledge at p=0.421 (Table 4).

Association between socio-demographic data with status of attitude of nursing students

Explain the association between socio-demographic data and with status of attitude of first-year nursing students. There is a significant association found between age and attitude at p=0.237, place of birth and attitude at p=192, type of family and attitude at p=0.302, and also there is a significant association between No of family members and attitude at p=0.490 (Table 5).

Table 4. Association between the socio-demographic variables and nutritional knowledge of firstyear nursing students.

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Discussion

This study was undertaken to study the “Nutrition knowledge, attitude, and practice of nursing first year’s students from KLE Institute of Nursing college”. All the first year’s nursing students participated and there were 92 nursing students. In the present study, the nutrition knowledge information on dietary recommendations in keeping with health consultants was similar in each female (88.58%) and male (87.63%). The present study discovered that (16.3 %) of Students did not recognize that soft drinks have health hazards. In our study, among 92 students, 27 (29.3%) of students have poor nutrition knowledge status, i.e., ≤ Mean – SD, average knowledge is about 41(44.6%), i.e., >Mean – SD to Mean + SD and 24 (26.1%) students have the high knowledge regarding nutrition, i.e., > Mean + SD. It was observed that almost out of 92 students, 91 (98.91%) students said yes to cereals, pulses, and legumes, were 1 (1.09%) said No. both green leafy vegetables and other vegetables, students said yes 89 (96.73%) to green leafy vegetables and 48 (52.16%) yes for other vegetables, compared to green leafy vegetables, i.e., 3 (3.2%) other vegetables had more No signs about 44 (47.84%). About 67 (72.83%) said yes to fruits and 25 (27.17%) No signs. Comparing milk products and beverages more students marked yes to beverages and, i.e., 76 (82.61%) and 16 (17.39%) said No. Milk and milk products are more nutritious than beverages, but about 70 (76.1%) yes to milk products, and 22 (23.9%) say no. The same in nuts and sweets, nuts are more healthy than sweets but more students said yes to sweets, i.e., 39 (42.4%) and 53 (57.60%) were marked No. 28 (30.44%) yes to nuts and seeds, 64 (69.56%) No. Non-vegetarian consumption of food. Eggs and fish had a high frequency of yes compared to Meat and chicken and most of the students said No to the beef and pork consumption. Out of 92 students, 14 (15.2%) of students have a poor attitude towards nutrition, 72 (78.3%) have average knowledge, and about 6 (6.5%) students had a high attitude towards nutrition. The intake of most nutrients by the bulk of nurses was additionally found to be fairly equal to adequate. Iron, cobalamin, and dietary vitamin B complex intakes were low among the nurses, which confirms to the low intake of those nutrients by the Indian ladies normally, making them extremely vulnerable to nutritional anemia (Abdollahi et al., 2013; Al-Shwaiyat et al., 2013).

Table 5. Association between socio-demographic data with status of attitude of nursing students.

The prevalence was in accordance with a previous study during which each male (53%) and female (50%) had similar nutrition knowledge information on dietary recommendations. Information on diet relationships was virtually similar in each male (81.3%) and female (80.33%). This result was virtually similar to the study (Van den Berg et al., 2012; Chalmuri et al., 2018). Out there proof urged associate degree association between dietary behavior and an individual’s perception of risk (Medicalnewstoday.com. 2009). different students (35.1%) were not alert to the foremost health issues associated with low intake of fruits and vegetables. This might be a result of not all the students taking nutritional process courses because a part of their information familiarizes the scholars with the wholesome worth of fruits and vegetables and their role in human health. This could even be because of the absorption of the diet today, which pushes the youth removed from organic food towards quick foods that are made of fat and carbohydrates (Barzegari et al., 2011; Elhassan et al., 2013).

This study aimed to assess the information on dietary recommendations and dietary practices of first medical students and to assess variations in self-reported nutrition practices and information. We tend to find that over half the participants knew the suggested variety of servings of fruits and vegetables per day, whereas half the students met the suggested variety of serves of fruit per day, and less than a fifth part reported intense the suggested variety of serves of vegetables per day. This study assessed the nutritional status of nursing students, explored the causes of malnutrition in them, and found the instigator causes behind these causes of malnutrition (Gupta 2017; Hadaye et al., 2019). This analysis was conducted in keeping with the knowledge-attitude-practice model (Bano et al., 2013). Healthcare professionals play a huge role in moulding the general public opinions and beliefs relating to health-related problems and thus, it is crucial that the prescribing fraternity ought to be sophisticated concerning nutrition and its role in maintaining health (Sharma and Adiga 2014; Ball et al., 2015).

The present study created a preliminary plan to verify the dietary practices and nutrition knowledge process standing of female nurses operating in government hospitals in the capital town of India. To sufficiently prepare nurses for their public health role in obesity prevention, more nutrition education is needed (Chepulis and Mearns 2015). Since nurses spend more time with hospitalized patients than other healthcare professionals, they are able to observe patients’ eating patterns and make appropriate dietary plans (Mowe et al., 2008; Al-Shwaiyat et al., 2013). Nutrition-related knowledge and practices demonstrate the need for nutrition education for every medical professional (Hu et al., 1997).

The present study concluded that most of the first-year nursing students from the Institute of Nursing College Belagavi had average nutrition knowledge, and all of them had the same practices towards nutrition and their attitude was average toward the same.

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Conclusion

The present study concluded that most of the first-year nursing students from the Institute of Nursing College Belagavi had average nutrition knowledge and all of them had the same practices towards nutrition and their attitude was average toward the same.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge the help rendered by the nursing students, Statisticians, Department Of MPH.

Conflict of interest

Nil.

Funding

Self funded.

Authors contribution

Sayali: conceptual framework and data collection; Vijaya: conceptual framework and review; Nirmala: review; Mubashir’s: data analysis; Bhagyashree: data analysis; Dhruv: data collection; Bhagyashree M: reviews; Yagya Singh- reviews; Falaq paloji- reviews.

Data availability

Nil.

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