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LET | Nutrition Curricula | Self Assessment Tool for Public Health/Community Nutrionists

Module 2: Self-Assessment Tool

Nutrition and Dietetics Practice

Public health/community nutritionists are the primary information resource for the relationships between diet, health, and disease prevention. It is vital that they are trained in the relationship between food and health throughout the life cycle and able to communicate this relationship to other members of the healthcare team, educators, policy makers, and the public. This particular section covers very basic aspects of nutrition knowledge and skills that are relevant to public health/community nutrition.

Knowledge of:

Nutrition throughout the life cycle:

Infant nutrition
Child nutrition
Adolescent nutrition
Maternal nutrition
Adult nutrition
Older adult/geriatric nutrition

Medical nutrition therapy including:

Cardiovascular conditions
Weight management
Type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance
HIV/AIDS
Food allergies and intolerances

Complementary and alternative medicine

The theories of behavior change:

Social cognitive theory
Stages of change
Health belief model
Social-ecological framework

Federal nutrition and physical activity recommendation and guidelines:

MyPyramid
Dietary Guidelines
NCEP, NCI, President´s Counsel on Physical Fitness

Food service management including:

Meal planning
Food purchasing
Food preparation (cooking)
Food systems
Food safety

Skills in:

Nutrition counseling including:

Coaching
Motivational interviewing

Applying theories of human behavior change to health education and nutrition counseling

Nutrition assessment techniques:

Anthropometric
Biochemical
Clinical
Dietary

Interpretation and use of data from nutrition assessment for individuals and populations

Communications

In today´s world, communication through a variety of different processes and media is commonplace. Public health and community nutritionists should be both knowledgeable of and skilled in using these various channels.

Knowledge of:

Modes of communication including: blogs, vlogs, chats, streaming videos, video conferencing, etc.

Methods to outreach to prospective clients to enhance their participation in health and nutrition programs such as:

Social marketing
Community participatory programs

Which community organizations, non-profits, social service agencies work with your target audiences

Skills in:

Communicating nutrition information at levels appropriate for different audiences both oral and written:

Consumers/public
Health professionals
Media

Effectively presenting accurate demographic, statistical, programmatic, and scientific information for professional and lay audiences

Using various communication channels and working with communication media such as:

Printed media (newspapers, magazines, newsletters, posters, and flyers)
Radio
Films/television
Internet/websites/web-logging (blogging)
Email
Personal Digital Assistants
PowerPoint

Using the consultation process with community organizations, non-profits, and social service agencies

Leading and participating in groups to address specific issues

Using group process techniques (examples: brainstorming, focus groups, nominal group processes)

Writing effectively and concisely with attention the target audience and mode of communication

Public Health Science and Practice

This section covers the basic areas of public health that may not always be included in the nutrition education of professionals. To be effective in health promotion and disease prevention, public health/community nutritionists have to develop collaborative partnerships at federal, state, community, and provider levels to ensure community participation and program support. A holistic approach to wellness and prevention will help communities invest in their own health. This section is divided into sub-sections because there are so many diverse areas of public health.

Legislation, policy, and advocacy

Knowledge of:

Current and emerging public health and nutrition problems

Political considerations involved in agency planning and decision-making

Governmental public health/community nutrition programs

The processes involved in the development of public policy, legislation, and regulations that influence nutrition and health services

Legislative process at the:

Federal level
State level
Local level

The purpose, function, and politics of organizations in the community that influence nutrition and health

The role of government in the delivery of community health services

Skills in:

Using the legal and political system to effect change

Contacting politicians to support legislation

Participating in organized advocacy efforts for health and nutrition programs

Identifying economic and societal trends which have implications for the health and nutritional status of the population

Collecting, summarizing, and interpreting information relevant to an issue

Identifying, interpreting, and implementing public health laws, regulations, and policies related to specific programs

Articulating the health, fiscal, administrative, legal, social, and political implications of each policy option

Writing and stating clear and concise policy statements

Developing a feasible plan to implement policy, including goals, outcome and process objectives, and implementation steps

Developing mechanisms to monitor and evaluate programs for their effectiveness and quality

Translating and implementing policy into organizational plans, structures, and programs

Community

Knowledge of:

Community planning processes such as MAPP (Mobilizing Assets for Action for Planning and Partnership)

Components of a community health and nutrition needs assessment

Community assets and available resources (example: RAP assessments)
Community health and human service programs and of appropriate resources for client referral

Emergency preparedness/disaster relief

Bioterrorism

Skills in:

Soliciting input on perceived needs from clients, community leadership, and health professionals

Planning, implementing, and evaluating a community public health assessment

Coalition building with key stakeholders and community partners

Utilizing leadership, team building, negotiation, and conflict resolution skills to build community partnerships

Accomplishing effective community engagements

Identifying the health priorities of communities

Research

Knowledge of:

Available sources of nutrition related data and their use (BRFSS, NHANES, etc)

Research design and methodology appropriate for public health situations

How the data illuminates ethical, political, scientific, economic, and overall public health issues

The principals of data management and collection

Statistical analysis and interpretation

The limitations of research and the importance of observations and interrelationships

Ethical principles in the collection, maintenance, use, and dissemination of data and information

The process of community participatory research

Skills in:

Identifying and retrieving current relevant scientific evidence for public health/community nutrition practice

Applying basic research methods used in public health

Accessing and utilizing data from nutrition monitoring and surveillance systems

Defining the problem and describing potential intervention points

Selecting and defining measures relevant to public health problems

Evaluating the integrity and comparability of data and identifies gaps in data sources

Computer applications for data compilation and analyses

Interpreting research and implications for the practice of public health/community nutrition

Determining appropriate uses and limitations of both quantitative and qualitative data

Management

While not specifically trained in business management, many public health/community nutritionists find themselves overseeing projects, departments, and teams. The basics of management and human resources are assessed in this section.

Knowledge of:

Available funding sources for public health/community nutrition programs

The principles of management

The process of program evaluation:

Process evaluation
Impact evaluation

Skills in:

Preparing proposals for funding from external sources

Applying the theory of organizational structures to professional practice

Translating community assessment data into agency program plans for nutrition services including:

Prioritizing goals
Developing measurable objectives
Developing action plans to meet program objectives

Helping communities to translate community assessment data into their health plans

Integrating plans for nutrition services into overall mission and plan of the health agency

Organizing and prioritizing work

Monitoring and reporting on program performance

Applying the principles of personnel management including:

Recruiting
Staffing
Supervising
Motivating
Performance appraisal
Staff development

Strategic planning (ex. SWOT analysis)

Motivation of personnel

Conflict resolution

Creating a cultural of ethical standards within your organization

Helping create key values and shared vision

Promoting team and organization cooperation

Contributing to the development, implementation, and monitoring of organizational performance standards

Negotiating and developing contracts and other documents for the provision of population-based services

Grant writing and contract management

Implementation of program evaluation results

Applying principles of budgeting including:

Applying the budget process
Developing strategies for determining budget priorities
Budget preparation and justification
Reimbursement systems

Cultural and Linguistic Competency

As US society becomes increasingly diverse, it is vital for public health/community nutritionists to be culturally competent. Understanding one's target population's cultural differences and assets regardless of race, socioeconomic status, gender, lifestyle preference, and age is fundamental to creating healthy communities and effective and lasting behavior changes.

Knowledge of:

The dynamic forces contributing to cultural diversity

Techniques and tools for measuring cultural competence

The cultural aspects of various dietary patterns

A second language

The unique needs of low literacy audiences

Skills in:

Developing an unbiased listening style

Respecting the points of view of others

Facilitating the expression of diverse opinions and perspectives

Identifying the role of cultural issues of stakeholders in determining the delivery of public health services

Utilizing appropriate methods for interacting effectively and professionally with persons from diverse cultural, socioeconomic, educational, and professional backgrounds

Assessing the literacy levels of materials and adapting them as needed

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