Classification of Patients in Clinics for Nutritional Education of Lifestyle Change

:Trial of the Evaluation for Nutritional Education with Behaviormetric Approach

Abstract

To provide effective nutrition education for improving behavioral change on subject's lifestyle, type specific education may be effective. The aim of the study is to classify the subjects into several types based on their behavioral pattern. In total, 270 outpatients in clinics who underwent nutrition counseling were the subjects of this study. The assessment questionnaire consists of 14 items including questions of awareness of their illness, willingness to change their lifestyle. Hayashi's quantification method 3 was used (Q3) to examine the response pattern. As a result, the outpatients were classified into four types based on the analysis by Q3 and we proposed an approach corresponding to each type. Possibility to classify the patients into the four types with less items was examined by correlation coefficients. Short version of assessment using four items was suggested to be practically useful. The adequate approach for each type is expected to increase the effectiveness of nutrition education compared to the conventional nutrition education that is based on nutritionist own experience. Further study is needed to examine the effectiveness of this method.