LB027 - INTEGRATING BODY COMPOSITION AND ENERGY METABOLISM ASSESSMENTS ACROSS THE NUTRITION CARE PROCESS: A QUALITATIVE STUDY

LB027

INTEGRATING BODY COMPOSITION AND ENERGY METABOLISM ASSESSMENTS ACROSS THE NUTRITION CARE PROCESS: A QUALITATIVE STUDY

H. Ghomashchi¹, C. E. Orsso¹, M. Atkins², T. G. Barbosa-Silva³, C. Basualdo-Hammond², D. Cardenas⁴, S. Chevalier^5,6, M. C. Gonzalez^3,7, L. Gramlich^1,8, H. Jager-Wittenaar^9,10,11, N. Kiss¹², S. A. Purcell^13,14,15, M. Quintanilha¹, S. Sidhu¹⁶, P. Tandon¹, M. Tom², C. PRADO^1,*

¹University of Alberta, ²Alberta Health Services, Edmonton, Canada, ³Federal University of Pelotas, Pelotas, Brazil, ⁴Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France, ⁵McGill University, Montreal, ⁶McGill University, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Canada, ⁷Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, United States, ⁸Alberta Health Services, Calgary, Canada, ⁹Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen, ¹⁰Radboud university medical center, Nijmegen, Netherlands, ¹¹Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium, ¹²Deakin University, Geelong, Australia, ¹³University of British Columbia, Vancouver, ¹⁴University of British Columbia, ¹⁵University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, ¹⁶BC Cancer –Victoria, Victoria, Canada

Rationale: Body composition (BC) and energy metabolism (EM) assessments support the evaluation of nutritional status and energy requirements in clinical populations. This qualitative study sought to understand dietitians’ perspectives on the future implementation of BC and EM assessments within routine clinical and dietetic care.

Methods: Dietitians (n=36) with ≥1 year experience from seven clinical practice areas (oncology, liver diseases, kidney diseases, critical care, weight management/bariatric, inpatient care, and practice leads) participated in seven online focus groups (4-6 participants/group; 2:40 hours each) in March 2023 in Alberta, Canada. Focus groups were guided by a structured interview guide, audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using inductive thematic analysis.

Results: Five themes emerged from focus groups analyses: 1) prioritizing patients considering assessment and context, 2) optimizing nutrition care using assessment findings, 3) supporting patient-centered care, 4) contextual factors influencing implementation feasibility, and 5) strategies to support implementation.

Conclusion: Dietitians perceive that integrating BC and EM assessments has strong potential to enhance patient-centered and decision-informed nutrition care, particularly when aligned with clinical priorities and individual patient needs. Successful implementation will depend on addressing contextual barriers and leveraging practical strategies that support feasibility within diverse clinical settings.

Disclosure of Interest: H. Ghomashchi: None declared, C. E. Orsso Other: Speaker engagement and honoraria from Abbott Nutrition, scholarships from Mitacs Accelerate in partnership with My Viva Plan and Killam Trusts Award, M. Atkins: None declared, T. G. Barbosa-Silva: None declared, C. Basualdo-Hammond: None declared, D. Cardenas Other: Honoraria and/or paid consultancy from Nutricia, Nestlé Health Science, and Fresenius Kabi. Diana Cardenas also serves as the ethics editor for Clinical Nutrition., S. Chevalier Other: Speaker honoraria from Nestlé Health Science, M. C. Gonzalez Consultant for: Nestlé Health Science Brazil, Other: Speaker engagement with Abbott Nutrition and Nutricia, L. Gramlich Consultant for: Baxter, Fresenius Kabi, Abbott, Other: Speaker engagement with Baxter, Fresenius Kabi, Abbott, H. Jager-Wittenaar: None declared, N. Kiss Other: Paid honoraria from Abbott Australasia and Nutricia, S. A. Purcell: None declared, M. Quintanilha Other: Owner of Quali Q Inc., S. Sidhu: None declared, P. Tandon: None declared, M. Tom: None declared, C. PRADO Grant / Research Support from: CIHR FRN#:183361, Consultant for: Abbott Nutrition, Nutricia, Novo Nordisk, Other: Speaker engagement with Abbott Nutrition, Nutricia, Nestle Health Science, Novo Nordisk