Joan Fernando, Lucia Alonso, Isabella Gastaldo, Alba Coll, Josep Lozano, Vinicius Martini, Elena Roura, Lina Williamson, Joan Escarrabill, Violeta Moize
Awareness of nutrition's role in chronic diseases is rising, demanding guidance on the diet-disease relationship. Nutritional practices become crucial for prevention, prompting healthcare professionals (HCP) to respond. The present study assessed a Culinary Medicine (CM) program's impact on HCP's Mediterranean diet adherence, food and diet therapy knowledge, food management skills, culinary proficiency, and counseling confidence. A mixed-methods pilot implementation program (PIP) engaged 20 HCP from Hospital Clinic Barcelona at the Al��cia Foundation kitchen-lab. Four 8-hour CM sessions, held weekly, covered culinary knowledge emphasizing disease prevention and care. All twenty participants; 86% women, 14% men, 86% aged above 40, 14% between 31 and 39 years, 71% nurses, 7% medical doctors and 21% other occupation, completed the course and fourteen fulfilled pre-and post-program questionnaires. Notably, 86% had prior nutrition training, while only 14% had culinary training. After the program, there was significant improvement in Mediterranean diet adherence ( < .05). Perceptions on dietary advice usefulness, patient-transferable knowledge acquisition, cooking techniques, and personal cooking skills confidence showed post-course improvements. This study underscores the potential of hands-on CM training in HCP nutrition education, influencing their culinary knowledge. Future studies with larger samples is needed to elucidate CM training's impact on HCP and potential public health benefits.
