A Survey on the Status of Nutrition Care Process Implementation in Korean Hospitals

The Nutrition Care Process (NCP), developed by the American Dietetic Association, is a significant issue to dietetic professionals in many countries and there are rising needs for NCP implementation in Korea. We surveyed clinical nutrition managers of Korean general hospitals regarding the perception of NCP, the status of NCP implementation, and the opinions on NCP. The questionnaire was collected from 35 hospitals. Most clinical nutrition managers perceived NCP, but NCP implementation in hospital was at early stage. NCP was implemented in a fourth of the surveyed hospitals and many clinical nutrition managers responded that the lack of knowledge and the concern on increasing working time were major barriers to implementing NCP. To successfully implement NCP in Korean hospital, ongoing education and training programs should be developed to provide adequate knowledge and help dietitians to cope with the barriers.