ARE THE OFFICIAL RECOMMENDATIONS ABOUT BREASTFEEDING AND COMPLEMENTARY FEEDING FAMILIAR TO BRAZILIAN HEALTH PROFESSIONALS?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12957/demetra.2019.43327Keywords:
Breastfeeding. Knowledge. Children’s nutrition. Healthcare Personnel. Health promotion.Abstract
Objective: This study identifies the consolidated knowledge among healthcare professionals in Brazil about breastfeeding and complementary feeding along with the omissions and divergences about this theme in the available institutional materials. Methods: This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted nationwide using an online questionnaire with 316 health professionals (nurses, doctors, and nutritionists) recruited through the snowball sampling method. Each professional answered 89 question expressing their degree of agreement on a five-point Likert scale. The contents included in the questionnaire were from scientific articles and institutional materials as well as suggested by experts in the subject. For data analysis, the average score for each item was calculated and items with scores between 2.5 and 3.5 were considered knowledge gaps. Consensus items were when at least 80% of responses totally disagreed (1) or agreed (5). Results: Most of the 89 items studied referred to knowledge gaps. The main gaps identified were offering specific food and/or nutrient groups, fruit and vegetable hygiene, micronutrient supplementation, cross-nursing, breastfeeding at night, offering natural juices, and early introduction of food. The consensus was mostly about the biological safety and nutritional adequacy of preparations. Conclusion: The guidelines available today must be reviewed with special attention paid to the missing themes and those with knowledge gaps, to improve training and education about health and consequently improve the guidance provided by professionals to the community.
DOI: 10.12957/demetra.2019.43327
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