Health Philosophy of Dietitians and Its Implications for Life Satisfaction: An Exploratory Study

Studies of health providers suggest that satisfaction with life is related to their values and sense of purpose which is best achieved when their professional role is in harmony with personal philosophy. Cross-sectional surveys suggest that personal health beliefs and practices of health professionals influence their clinical counseling practices. However, little is known about the influence of health philosophy on the personal satisfaction with life for dietitians. This study recruited a randomly selected, cross-sectional sample to complete a self-administered online survey. An exploratory factor analysis of was conducted for 479 participants resulting in a two-factor solution, clinical (α = 0.914) and wellness (α = 0.894) perceptions of health. An index score for the following valid and reliable scales were calculated: satisfaction with life, health conception, and healthy lifestyle and personal control. Pearson correlation coefficients between scores were analyzed to determine the degree of relationship. Potential mediators were explored with multiple regression. The relationships between variables were tested with structural equation modeling using a multigroup comparison between genders. The male participants were removed from the overall model and were separately evaluated. Health philosophy that is oriented toward wellness, was positively and significantly associated with life satisfaction, r(462) = 0.103, p < 0.05. Participants with higher Healthy Lifestyle and Personal Control scores reported greater life satisfaction, r(462) = 0.27, p = 0.000. Healthy lifestyle alone predicted 8.8% of the variance in life satisfaction (R(2) = 0.088, df 1462, p = 0.005). SEM confirmed the model had goodness-of-fit (χ(2) = 2.63, p = 0.453). The satisfaction with life of dietitians is directly and positively influenced by a greater wellness orientation and personal healthy lifestyle practices. The effect of practice and lifestyle on life satisfaction appears to be greater for men.