Issue 147 Editors news

NEWS CLINICAL HCPC SUPPORTS REFLECTIVE PRACTICE ACROSS HEALTHCARE Reflective practice plays an important role in healthcare, as affirmed by the HCPC, along with the chief executives of other healthcare regulators, in a signed joint statement:

Emma Coates Editor Emma has been a Registered Dietitian for 12 years, with experience of adult and paediatric dietetics.

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‘Benefits of becoming a reflective practitioner – outlining the processes and advantages of good reflective practice for individuals and teams.’

The statement states that reflection brings benefits to service user, by fostering improvements in practices and services and assuring the public that healthcare professionals are continuously learning and seeking to improve.

Information is given on how to get the most out of reflective practice, including having a systematic and structured approach with proactive and willing participants. It makes clear that any experience, positive or negative and however small – perhaps a conversation with a colleague – can generate meaningful insight and learning. Multidisciplinary and professional team reflection is viewed as an excellent way to develop ideas and improve practice.

For the full statement, visit: www.hcpc-uk.co.uk/globalassets/news-and-events/benefits-of-becoming-a-reflectivepractitioner----joint-statement-2019.pdf

THE NHS LOW CARB PROGRAM Diabetes Digital Media’s Low Carb Program1 is a 15-week structured behaviour change programme for people with Type 2 diabetes, prediabetes and obesity. Launched in 2015. A recent paper published in 2018 in the Journal of Medical Internet Research2 has proven that a digitally delivered low carbohydrate Type 2 diabetes self-management program is effective in improving glycaemic control, weight loss and reducing hypoglycaemic medications. The BDA has recently released a positive review3 of the NHS Low Carb Program App, giving a comprehensive overview.

The Low Carb Program App is available via the NHS library4 and it currently carries a ‘No Badge’ status, which means it meets NHS quality standards for safety, usability and accessibility. It has also gained QISMET approval, meaning it can be prescribed on the NHS.5 References 1 Diabetes Digital Media’s Low Carb Program: https://ddm.health/ 2 Laura R Saslow, Charlotte Summers, James E Aikens, David J Unwin. Outcomes of a Digitally Delivered LowCarbohydrate Type 2 Diabetes Self-Management Program: 1-Year Results of a Single-Arm Longitudinal Study. JMIR Diabetes 2018 (Aug 03); 3(3):e12. https://diabetes.jmir.org/2018/3/e12/ 3 British Dietetic Association (2019). Review of the NHS Low Carb Program App: A Diabetes Dietitian’s Perspective.

Paula Gallon, Specialist Diabetes Dietitian, Solihull Community Diabetes Service on behalf of the BDA Diabetes Specialist Group 4 www.nhs.uk/apps-library/low-carb-program/ 5 www.lowcarbprogram.com/nhs/

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www.NHDmag.com August/September 2019 - Issue 147

NEWS STUDY LOOKS INTO HOW FATHERS CAN INFLUENCE THEIR CHILDREN’S DIETS A new study1 has looked into how fathers’ parenting behaviours contribute to the development of children’s dietary behaviours and subsequent weight outcomes.

The Extended Infant Feeding Activity and Nutrition Trial Program study is the first to investigate whether paternal self-efficacy influences the dietary intakes of young children. Results of the study showed that associations between paternal self-efficacy and children’s dietary intakes are present at a young age. It also showed that paternal self-efficacy for promoting children’s obesity-protective dietary intakes reduced over time and was influenced by the father’s education and qualifications. Higher and/or sustained paternal self-efficacy is associated with fathers’ education and is important in promoting children’s obesity protective dietary intakes.

The study recommends that future family interventions should consider how to maintain and/or improve paternal self-efficacy to positively influence children’s healthy food intakes in early childhood.

1 https://ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12966-019-0814-5

POSITIONING OF SUPERMARKET FOODS ONLINE CAN HELP REDUCE SATURATED FAT INTAKE Interventions to reduce the saturated fat (SFA) content of food purchased online may help reduce SFA consumption and lower cardiovascular risk.

A recent RCT examined the effects of altering the default order of foods selected during an online shopping experiment.

Purchasers were also offered food swaps with less SFA content.

Between March and July 2018, UK adults, who were the primary grocery shoppers for their household, were recruited online and invited to select items in a custom-made experimental online supermarket, using a 10item shopping list. 1240 participants were evenly randomised and 1088 who completed the task were analysed (88%). Participants were 65% female. Compared with no intervention where the percentage energy from SFA was 25.7%, altering the order of foods reduced SFA by 5% and offering swaps by 2%. The combined intervention was more effective than swaps alone (3.4%).

Environmental-level interventions, such as altering the default order of shopping items in online supermarkets, may be a promising way to improve food purchasing. For the full results visit: www.ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12966-019-0810-9.

www.NHDmag.com August/September 2019 - Issue 147

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