Trends, challenges, opportunities, and future needs of the dietetic workforce: a systematic scoping review

Abstract

Context: Issues related to nutrition and health are prominent, yet it is unclear if the dietetics workforce is being used optimally.

Objective: Trends, challenges, opportunities, and future needs of the international dietetic workforce are investigated in this review, which was registered with Open Science Framework (10.17605/OSF.IO/DXNWE).

Data sources: Eight academic and 5 grey-literature databases and the Google search engine were searched from 2010 onward according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. Of 2050 articles screened, 184 were eligible for inclusion.

Data extraction: To chart data, a directed content analysis and a constant comparison technique were used.

Data analysis: The following 13 themes were identified: 1) emerging or expanding areas of practice; 2) skill development; 3) economic considerations; 4) nutrition informatics; 5) diversity within the workforce; 6) specific areas of practice; 7) further education; 8) intrapersonal factors; 9) perceptions of the profession; 10) protecting the scope of practice; 11) support systems; 12) employment outcomes; and 13) registration or credentialing.

Conclusions: The dietetics profession is aware of the need to expand into diverse areas of employment. Comprehensive workforce data are necessary to facilitate workforce planning.

Keywords: education; employability; nutrition; qualitative research; workforce development.