Online education improves Canadian dietitians' attitudes and knowledge regarding recommending and ordering multivitamin/mineral supplements

Purpose: to determine the attitudes and knowledge of Fraser Health registered dietitians (RDs) regarding recommending and ordering multivitamin/mineral supplements prior to and following an online education module. Methods: The educational intervention consisted of narrated slides with electronic resources. After undergoing external review for face and content validity, 6 attitude questions and a 15-item knowledge test were administered pre- and postintervention. The attitude questionnaire utilized a 5-point Likert scale and had a maximum summative score of 30 points. The knowledge test was worth a maximum of 15 points. Results: Of the eligible RDs (n = 123), 57 (46.3%) completed the study and 55 participants were included in the final analyses. Summative attitude scores were higher on the post-intervention questionnaire compared with the preintervention questionnaire (t = 92.5, P < 0.001). The proportion of correctly answered knowledge questions pre- (78.0% ± 10.0%) to postintervention (mean = 87.4% ± 6.0%) increased significantly (t = 7.16, P < 0.001). Conclusions: Postintervention, RD attitudes and knowledge improved confirming that the education strategy was effective. Future work should focus on optimizing the module and knowledge questions.