Nutrition education for healthcare professionals in Ireland: insights from curriculum, accreditation and registration standards

Abstract Objective: Nutrition plays a valuable role in health promotion and disease prevention. Nutrition education for healthcare professionals (HCPs) has been widely explored globally. However, it has not been investigated extensively within Ireland. This research aimed to assess references to nutrition within education programmes, accreditation curricula standards and registration requirements of professional bodies for primary care and community HCPs in Ireland. Design: A cross-sectional content analysis was conducted. Data collection was carried out in October 2024. Setting: Ireland Participants: A sample of primary care and community HCPs was included ( n 10). An online search identified education programmes (undergraduate and postgraduate), accreditation curriculum standards and registration requirements from professional bodies governing primary care and community HCPs. Relevant webpages and documentation were reviewed to determine direct references to nutrition (e.g. ‘diet’, ‘nutrition’, ‘eating’, ‘food’) and/or indirect references to nutrition (e.g. ‘health promotion’ and ‘well-being’). Results: Out of fifty-two education programmes, 26·9 % ( n 14) made direct reference to nutrition, with the majority ( n 8) of these being postgraduate level. Furthermore, 20 % ( n 2) of the HCP bodies referred directly to nutrition within their registration requirements (one of which was for dietitians), and 50 % ( n 5) referred directly to nutrition within their accreditation standards. Conclusions: This research demonstrates a sparsity of nutrition within key education standards for primary care and community HCPs in Ireland. Key recommendations include a call to action for formal and consistent embedding of nutrition within education for medical professionals in Ireland, in line with international best practice.