{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/36850"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/36850","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"The need for physician referral of low-income, chronic disease patients to free community nutrition education programs","abstract":"There is a high prevalence of chronic diseases and conditions among older, low-income individuals in the United States. It is well recognized that diet plays an important role in the management and prevention of chronic diseases. Despite this, primary-care physicians often do not provide adequate dietary counseling or appropriate nutrition referrals to this patient population. Two surveys were conducted in Southwest and the western part of Central Virginia, one with 209 family practitioners and internists and the other with 57 low-income participants in the Food Stamp Nutrition Education Program (FSNEP). The FSNEP clients were aged 40 years or older, had been enrolled in FSNEP for four months or less, and had a diet-related chronic disease or condition. Eighty-one percent of physicians reported that they provide nutrition advice to their chronic disease patients on a regular basis. Most physicians further stated that they make a limited number of referrals to registered dietitians and very few referrals to community nutrition education programs. FSNEP clients were generally dissatisfied with their primary-care physician's provision of nutrition information and indicated a desire for more dietary guidance. Results indicate a need for primary-care physician referrals to free community nutrition education services that tailor their programs to the patient's socioeconomic situation. These referrals may improve the nutrition health of older, low-income patients and help manage their chronic diseases. Informational brochures need to be developed and distributed to primary-care physicians informing them of the positive attributes of free community nutrition education programs, such as FSNEP.","abstract_html":"There is a high prevalence of chronic diseases and conditions among older, low-income individuals in the United States. It is well recognized that diet plays an important role in the management and prevention of chronic diseases. Despite this, primary-care physicians often do not provide adequate dietary counseling or appropriate nutrition referrals to this patient population. Two surveys were conducted in Southwest and the western part of Central Virginia, one with 209 family practitioners and internists and the other with 57 low-income participants in the Food Stamp Nutrition Education Program (FSNEP). The FSNEP clients were aged 40 years or older, had been enrolled in FSNEP for four months or less, and had a diet-related chronic disease or condition. Eighty-one percent of physicians reported that they provide nutrition advice to their chronic disease patients on a regular basis. Most physicians further stated that they make a limited number of referrals to registered dietitians and very few referrals to community nutrition education programs. FSNEP clients were generally dissatisfied with their primary-care physician's provision of nutrition information and indicated a desire for more dietary guidance. Results indicate a need for primary-care physician referrals to free community nutrition education services that tailor their programs to the patient's socioeconomic situation. These referrals may improve the nutrition health of older, low-income patients and help manage their chronic diseases. Informational brochures need to be developed and distributed to primary-care physicians informing them of the positive attributes of free community nutrition education programs, such as FSNEP.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Shawver, Gregory Wayne"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise","degree_department":"Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Cox, Ruby Hurley"],"committee_members":["Thye, Forrest W.","Bohland, James R."],"year":1998,"date_issued":"1998-06-19","date_published":"1998-06-19","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:20:00Z","subjects":["Food Stamp","nutrition counseling","nutrition referrals"],"languages":[],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["etd-6198-175114"],"render_values":[{"text":"etd-6198-175114","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10919/36850","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Cox, Ruby Hurley"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Thye, Forrest W.","Bohland, James R."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Shawver, Gregory Wayne"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2014-03-14T20:52:00Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-03-14T20:52:00Z","1999-07-09"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["1998-06-19"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Food Stamp","nutrition counseling","nutrition referrals"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["etd-6198-175114"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/36850"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["There is a high prevalence of chronic diseases and conditions among older, low-income individuals in the United States. It is well recognized that diet plays an important role in the management and prevention of chronic diseases. Despite this, primary-care physicians often do not provide adequate dietary counseling or appropriate nutrition referrals to this patient population. Two surveys were conducted in Southwest and the western part of Central Virginia, one with 209 family practitioners and internists and the other with 57 low-income participants in the Food Stamp Nutrition Education Program (FSNEP). The FSNEP clients were aged 40 years or older, had been enrolled in FSNEP for four months or less, and had a diet-related chronic disease or condition. Eighty-one percent of physicians reported that they provide nutrition advice to their chronic disease patients on a regular basis. Most physicians further stated that they make a limited number of referrals to registered dietitians and very few referrals to community nutrition education programs. FSNEP clients were generally dissatisfied with their primary-care physician's provision of nutrition information and indicated a desire for more dietary guidance. Results indicate a need for primary-care physician referrals to free community nutrition education services that tailor their programs to the patient's socioeconomic situation. These referrals may improve the nutrition health of older, low-income patients and help manage their chronic diseases. Informational brochures need to be developed and distributed to primary-care physicians informing them of the positive attributes of free community nutrition education programs, such as FSNEP."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The need for physician referral of low-income, chronic disease patients to free community nutrition education programs"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Cox, Ruby Hurley"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Thye, Forrest W.","Bohland, James R."],"dc:contributor.department":["Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise"],"dc:creator":["Shawver, Gregory Wayne"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2014-03-14T20:52:00Z"],"dc:date.available":["2014-03-14T20:52:00Z","1999-07-09"],"dc:date.issued":["1998-06-19"],"dc:description.abstract":["There is a high prevalence of chronic diseases and conditions among older, low-income individuals in the United States. It is well recognized that diet plays an important role in the management and prevention of chronic diseases. Despite this, primary-care physicians often do not provide adequate dietary counseling or appropriate nutrition referrals to this patient population. Two surveys were conducted in Southwest and the western part of Central Virginia, one with 209 family practitioners and internists and the other with 57 low-income participants in the Food Stamp Nutrition Education Program (FSNEP). The FSNEP clients were aged 40 years or older, had been enrolled in FSNEP for four months or less, and had a diet-related chronic disease or condition. Eighty-one percent of physicians reported that they provide nutrition advice to their chronic disease patients on a regular basis. Most physicians further stated that they make a limited number of referrals to registered dietitians and very few referrals to community nutrition education programs. FSNEP clients were generally dissatisfied with their primary-care physician's provision of nutrition information and indicated a desire for more dietary guidance. Results indicate a need for primary-care physician referrals to free community nutrition education services that tailor their programs to the patient's socioeconomic situation. These referrals may improve the nutrition health of older, low-income patients and help manage their chronic diseases. Informational brochures need to be developed and distributed to primary-care physicians informing them of the positive attributes of free community nutrition education programs, such as FSNEP."],"dc:description.degree":["Master of Science"],"dc:identifier.other":["etd-6198-175114"],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/36850"],"dc:publisher":["Virginia Tech"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:subject":["Food Stamp","nutrition counseling","nutrition referrals"],"dc:title":["The need for physician referral of low-income, chronic disease patients to free community nutrition education programs"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise"],"thesis:degree_level":["masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science"],"thesis:institution_name":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:20:00Z"}