(P30-020-24) Identifying Telehealth Competencies and Skills in Dietetics Education and Practice: A Modified e-Delphi Consensus Study Protocol

Objectives: Despite the rapid uptake of telehealth for the delivery of nutrition care in recent years and the predicted future demand, there remains a deficit in telehealth integration into didactic education within the nutrition and dietetics curriculum. Competency-based education is a crucial aspect of the education of future workforces. Thus, there is a need for consensus on essential competencies and skills for nutrition and dietetics practitioners. The study aims to apply a modified e-Delphi process to achieve expert consensus on the essential telehealth competencies and skills required for nutrition and dietetics practitioners to provide safe and effective virtual nutrition care.

Methods: A consensus-building study will be conducted using a modified e-Delphi technique. The Delphi method uses a blinded, structured, and iterative process to generate expert opinion. First, an initial list of potentially relevant telehealth competencies for nutrition practice will be identified based on a focused literature review. Then, three iterative rounds of anonymous online surveys will be conducted with a panel of virtual nutrition care experts (n=30) to refine and reach a consensus for each item. Consensus will be defined a priori as >80% of experts identifying a topic as very important. The online collaborative research platform, Surveylet, will facilitate the modified e-Delphi process and data analysis.

Results: N/A (study protocol)

Conclusions: Findings from the study can be used to guide telehealth curriculum in dietetics education and professional development and, ultimately, improve virtual nutrition care services and outcomes.

Funding Sources: This project is supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, grant no. 2022-68015-37263.