Evidence-based practice attitudes and nutrition support guideline knowledge between holders and nonholders of the Certified Nutrition Support Clinician credential.

Background: Clinical practice frequently changes, and professionals should stay abreast of evidence-based practice (EBP) guidelines. Negative attitudes towards EBP are a barrier to guideline adoption. This study explored EBP attitudes and knowledge of a complex nutrition support clinical case scenario of individuals holding or not holding the Certified Nutrition Support Clinician (CNSC) credential.

Methods: This cross-sectional study used an online survey sent to American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN) members with and without the CNSC credential and all CNSC credential holders from the National Board of Nutrition Support Certification email list. The survey included the Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale Score (EBPAS-15) and eight knowledge questions using a nutrition support case scenario. An independent samples t test compared knowledge and EBPAS-15 total scores and subscores between CNSC holders and nonholders. Pearson correlation determined the correlation between knowledge and EBPAS-15 scores.

Results: The response rate was 7.8% (N = 706). CNSC holders (n = 536) had significantly higher mean knowledge scores (4.7 ± 1.6 out of 8) than nonholders (n = 159, 4.1 ± 1.7) (P < 0.001). Total EBPAS-15 scores were not significantly different between CNSC holders (n = 542, 2.9 ± 0.4 out of 4) and nonholders (n = 164, 2.8 ± 0.7) (P = 0.434), and knowledge scores and total EBPAS-15 scores (P = 0.639) or subscores were not significantly correlated.

Conclusions: Regardless of holding the CNSC credential, EBPAS-15 scores indicated respondents had positive EBP attitudes. CNSC holders had significantly higher knowledge scores of recent nutrition support EBP guidelines compared with non-CNSC credential holders. Positive EBP attitudes are a precursor to clinical decision-making, but future research should determine the use of guidelines in clinical practice.