Background: While nursing homes in Oklahoma are required to utilize a Registered Dietitian (RD) or Qualified Nutritionist, there are no specifications for minimum utilization. Objectives: Investigate how Oklahoma nursing homes determine RD utilization and whether a relationship exists between resident census and RD availability. Design: Questionnaires focused on RD work patterns were sent to 150 Oklahoma nursing homes.
Results: Nursing homes with a resident census of 50, 51-100, and 101 employed a RD for approximately 7. 9, 7.3, and 56.3 hours/month, respectively. The RD is the primary decision maker in determining hours worked, followed closely by corporate staff and governmental guidelines. A minority of nursing homes take into account patient medical status when considering RD utilization.
Conclusions: A direct relationship exists between resident census and RD utilization. The RD plays an influential role in determining monthly RD utilization. Patient medical status should play a larger role in determining RD availability.
","abstract_html":"<p>Background: While nursing homes in Oklahoma are required to utilize a Registered Dietitian (RD) or Qualified Nutritionist, there are no specifications for minimum utilization. Objectives: Investigate how Oklahoma nursing homes determine RD utilization and whether a relationship exists between resident census and RD availability. Design: Questionnaires focused on RD work patterns were sent to 150 Oklahoma nursing homes.</p> <p>Results: Nursing homes with a resident census of 50, 51-100, and 101 employed a RD for approximately 7. 9, 7.3, and 56.3 hours/month, respectively. The RD is the primary decision maker in determining hours worked, followed closely by corporate staff and governmental guidelines. A minority of nursing homes take into account patient medical status when considering RD utilization.</p> <p>Conclusions: A direct relationship exists between resident census and RD utilization. The RD plays an influential role in determining monthly RD utilization. Patient medical status should play a larger role in determining RD availability.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Bacon, Kyla"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Open Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"Health Sciences","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["George Liepa Ph.D.","John Carbone Ph.D., R.D.","Mary Anne Gorman Ph.D., R.D., L.D., FADA"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2011-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:16:44Z","subjects":["dietetic","nursing home","nutritionists","Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/364","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["George Liepa Ph.D.","John Carbone Ph.D., R.D.","Mary Anne Gorman Ph.D., R.D., L.D., FADA"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Bacon, Kyla"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2012-01-09T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Health Sciences"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["dietetic","nursing home","nutritionists","Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/364"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Background: While nursing homes in Oklahoma are required to utilize a Registered Dietitian (RD) or Qualified Nutritionist, there are no specifications for minimum utilization. Objectives: Investigate how Oklahoma nursing homes determine RD utilization and whether a relationship exists between resident census and RD availability. Design: Questionnaires focused on RD work patterns were sent to 150 Oklahoma nursing homes.
Results: Nursing homes with a resident census of 50, 51-100, and 101 employed a RD for approximately 7. 9, 7.3, and 56.3 hours/month, respectively. The RD is the primary decision maker in determining hours worked, followed closely by corporate staff and governmental guidelines. A minority of nursing homes take into account patient medical status when considering RD utilization.
Conclusions: A direct relationship exists between resident census and RD utilization. The RD plays an influential role in determining monthly RD utilization. Patient medical status should play a larger role in determining RD availability.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Relationship between nursing home size and their dietetic support effort"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["George Liepa Ph.D.","John Carbone Ph.D., R.D.","Mary Anne Gorman Ph.D., R.D., L.D., FADA"],"dc:creator":["Bacon, Kyla"],"dc:date.available":["2012-01-09T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Background: While nursing homes in Oklahoma are required to utilize a Registered Dietitian (RD) or Qualified Nutritionist, there are no specifications for minimum utilization. Objectives: Investigate how Oklahoma nursing homes determine RD utilization and whether a relationship exists between resident census and RD availability. Design: Questionnaires focused on RD work patterns were sent to 150 Oklahoma nursing homes.
Results: Nursing homes with a resident census of 50, 51-100, and 101 employed a RD for approximately 7. 9, 7.3, and 56.3 hours/month, respectively. The RD is the primary decision maker in determining hours worked, followed closely by corporate staff and governmental guidelines. A minority of nursing homes take into account patient medical status when considering RD utilization.
Conclusions: A direct relationship exists between resident census and RD utilization. The RD plays an influential role in determining monthly RD utilization. Patient medical status should play a larger role in determining RD availability.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/364"],"dc:subject":["dietetic","nursing home","nutritionists","Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition"],"dc:title":["Relationship between nursing home size and their dietetic support effort"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Health Sciences"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:16:44Z"}