Knowledge, self-efficacy and professional practices related to the Dietary Guidelines for the Brazilian population in primary health care

Abstract

Background

Individual factors appear related to the adoption of new recommendations and changes to professional practice for health promotion initiatives.

Objective

to evaluate the relationship between knowledge, self-efficacy (SE) and adoption of the Brazilian Dietary Guideline (BDG) recommendations in the practices of Family Health Support Center (NASF-AB) teams.

Method

a post-intervention cross-sectional sample from a controlled community trial involving 26 health professionals. Knowledge and SE in adopting the BDG recommendations were determined using a validated self- applicable scale. BDG adoption in professional practice was measured by observing the NASF-AB work routine and the scoring on the validated scale investigating GAB recommendation uptake. Scores ranged from 0 to 100 points.

Results

Average scores for knowledge, SE and BDG use were 83.07 (SD = 18.29), 63.36 (SD = 19.07) and 4.33 (SD = 8.03), respectively. There was a positive moderate correlation between SE and BDG utilization scores (r = 0.45; p = 0.03). Knowledge about BDG presented a weak correlation with the utilization score (r = 0.34; p = 0.11). Significant difference was observed between the averages of the BDG utilization score in the high SE group (5.13; p = 0.004; SD = 1.55), in relation to the low SE group (3.40; p = 0.059; SD = 1.69), regardless of professional category.

Conclusion

in this study, SE was moderately correlated with the adoption of new professional practices.

Keywords:
food guides; professional practice; self-efficacy; primary health care