Dietitians’ perspectives of the barriers and enablers to delivering patient‐centred care

Background Patient‐centred care (PCC) is widely recognised as being important with respect to the delivery of quality health care. However, limited research has explored PCC in the dietetic context. In particular, dietitians’ views of the barriers and enablers to delivering a patient‐centred approach have not been investigated. Therefore, the present study aimed to explore primary care dietitians’ perspectives of the barriers and enablers to delivering PCC. Methods The present study was situated in a constructivist–interpretivist paradigm and used qualitative methods. Both convenience and snowball sampling were used to recruit Australian Accredited Practising Dietitians (APD) who were working in primary care. Individual semi‐structured interviews explored dietitians’ perspectives of the barriers and enablers to delivering PCC. Data were analysed thematically. Results Twelve APDs were interviewed between March and April 2018. Seven themes were discovered: (i) challenges in defining PCC; (ii) valuing PCC; (iii) enacting PCC; (iv) requiring additional education in PCC; (v) evaluating one's own practice; (vi) workplace pressures and constraints; and (vii) keeping up with expectations. Conclusions These findings suggest that: (i) the meaning of PCC in dietetics should be clarified to ensure it is being practiced consistently; (ii) undergraduate curricula require a greater emphasis on PCC so that dietitians graduate with the necessary knowledge and skills; (iii) there is a need for more professional development training to facilitate uptake of PCC in practice; and (iv) quantitative measurement of PCC using validated instruments is needed to evaluate PCC in the dietetic setting. Addressing some of these factors may assist dietitians to adopt these practices.