DO DIETITIANS REQUIRE TAILORED ESPEN GUIDELINES? INSIGHTS FROM A EUROPEAN SURVEY

Rationale: The European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN) provides valuable, evidence-based
recommendations for clinical nutrition. An addendum specifically tailored for dietitians may help to bridge the gap
between these established guidelines and routine clinical dietetic practice. The European Federation of the Associations
of Dietitians (EFAD) conducted a survey to assess the perceived need for such an addendum which could offer
supplementary information relevant to daily dietetic practice.
Methods: A survey among European dietitians was conducted using snowball sampling to ensure diversity across
countries, areas of professional practice and education level.
Results: The survey, conducted between June and September 2024, recruited 432 respondents from 29 countries.
Several responders worked in more than one setting, but dominantly in public health care settings. Participants ranged in
age from 25 to 64 years; 14% held a doctoral degree, 50% a master’s degree, and 35% a bachelor’s degree. Dietitians
reported working across multiple areas of clinical practice. The most common areas included obesity, weight
management (48%), oncology (42%), gastroenterology (41%). All responders reported using ESPEN guidelines, and the
most commonly used were those on Clinical Nutrition in cancer (54%), hospital nutrition (50%), and Clinical nutrition in
inflammatory bowel disease (46%). Of the 432 respondents who answered the question regarding the need for an
addendum, 94% expressed a desire for practical guidance to accompany the original ESPEN guidelines.
Conclusion: The findings indicate strong support for the development of an addendum to the ESPEN original scientific
guidelines. Such addition may enhance the accessibility, clinical applicability, and relevance of the guidelines for
dietitians in everyday practice and broaden the influence of ESPEN in the dietetic community, ultimately improving patient
care.