Student and faculty perceptions of nutrition education in medical school.

BACKGROUND & AIM: There is abundant evidence to support the beneficial role of nutrition in the prevention, management and treatment of many health conditions including non-communicable diseases and malnutrition. Despite the increasing prevalence of these conditions around the world, research over the past decades has identified that many medical schools lack adequate nutrition education and training for medical students. With the Czech Republic not represented in these findings, this qualitative study aimed to assess and describe the perceptions of nutrition education at a Czech medical school. METHODS: Thirty-six participants, including students in all grades (n = 30) and faculty members from different disciplines (n = 6), completed individual, semi-structured interviews. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Inductive coding and thematic analysis were used to analyze data and identify key themes. RESULTS: Participants emphasized the important and wide-ranging role of nutrition, describing it as significant and essential for both prevention and treatment of many medical conditions. The first main theme, 'Nutrition in Medical Care and Health' identified support for the important role that nutrition plays in medical care and health. Participants acknowledged that doctors have an important role to promote good nutrition and thus require sufficient education in medical school to offer general nutrition information to patients. In the second theme, 'Nutrition Education in the Current Curriculum' some participants acknowledged that while the medical school offers a good theoretical education about nutrition, and training for specific populations such as pediatrics and oncology, overall, the current education about nutrition was 'inadequate,' not emphasized like other subjects and lacked practical application in clinical practice. The third main theme 'Opportunities for Nutrition Education in Medical School' identified the students' interest in learning more about nutrition to improve their knowledge in preparation for future practice and to promote healthy eating during medical school. In addition to identifying specific topics of interest, the participants shared preferred methods of learning nutrition information. CONCLUSIONS: The participants in this study recognized the importance of nutrition in medical care and perceived that nutrition education is not emphasized consistently in medical school. Students desired additional nutrition education to include current topics, promote self-care, and improve the emphasis in clinical training.

COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance of Pregnant and Lactating Women (PLW) in Czechia: An Analytical Cross-Sectional Study.

Pregnant and lactating women (PLW) represent a particular population subset with increased susceptibility for COVID-19 morbidity and mortality, even though the evidence about the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines was delayed due to their initial exclusion from development trials. This unclear situation could have led to increased COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy levels among PLW; therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the attitudes of Czech PLW towards COVID-19 vaccines and the determinants of their attitudes. An analytical cross-sectional survey-based study was carried out in the University Hospital Brno (South Moravia, Czechia) between August and October 2021. The study utilised a self-administered questionnaire (SAQ) adapted from previous instruments used for the same purpose. The SAQ included closed-ended items covering demographic characteristics, clinical and obstetric characteristics, attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination, and potential psychosocial predictors of vaccine acceptance. Out of the 362 included participants, 278 were pregnant (PW) and 84 were lactating women (LW). The overall COVID-19 vaccine acceptance (immediate and delayed) level was substantially high (70.2%), with a significant difference between PW (76.6%) and LW (48.8%). Out of the 70.2% who agreed to receive the vaccine, 3.6% indicated immediate acceptance, and 66.6% indicated delayed acceptance. Only 13.3% of the participants indicated their acceptance of their physician's vaccination recommendation during pregnancy or while lactating, and 62.2% were against it. Our results agreed with the recent studies that revealed that PW tended to have a high level of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance, and they were also inclined to resist professional recommendations because they predominantly preferred to delay their vaccination. The pregnancy trimester, education level, employment status, and previous live births were significant determinants for COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. The most commonly preferred vaccine type was mRNA-based vaccines, followed by viral vector-based and inactivated virus vaccines. The first top priority of PLW was vaccine safety for their children, followed by vaccine safety for the PLW and vaccine effectiveness. Regarding psychosocial predictors, media/social media, trust in the government, the pharmaceutical industry, and healthcare professionals, partners, and a positive risk-benefit ratio were significant promoters for COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. Findings from this study suggest that promotional interventions targeting PLW should use web platforms and focus on vaccine safety evidence, the expected benefits of vaccines and potential harms of the infection.