Nourish Your Bones: A Pilot Programme to Improve Nutrition Knowledge for Bone Health in a Community Hospital
Care Continuum
Yishun Health One Improvement Festival
National Healthcare Group
17 April 2025
To increase the patient's awareness, knowledge, and confidence to make better food choices for bone health in a facilitated. An interactive and nurturing environment was created which helped to foster peer support and engagement amongst patients to increase.
Year Submitted: 2025
Published Date: 17 April 2025
Tags: Care Continuum, Patient Education, Preventive Care, Community Health
About this Content
Aims
To increase the patient's awareness, knowledge, and confidence to make better food choices for bone health in a facilitated group programme.
Background
Nutrition is an important part of bone health. In Yishun Community Hospital, dietitians usually provide 1-1 individualised care to patients referred by the Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT). However, not all patients are referred to the dietitian, resulting in missed opportunities for nutrition education.
Methods
The programme included a 1-hour session with a mini lecture, interactive games, and a facilitated discussion on foods containing protein, calcium, and vitamin D using food cards and 3D food models. A pre and post questionnaire consisting of 5 questions was administered to assess the patient's nutrition awareness and knowledge. Confidence level was also recorded on a scale of 1-10 pre and post programme.
Results
23 out of 24 patients (95.8%) either improved or maintained their confidence levels after the programme. 21 out of 24 patients (87.5%) showed an improvement in awareness and knowledge after the programme. The group average score increased from 2.75/5 to 4.29/5.
Conclusion
An interactive and nurturing environment was created which helped to foster peer support and engagement amongst patients to increase nutrition knowledge for bone health. This programme provides an additional platform for dietitians to engage, empower, and educate hospitalised patients in a group setting.
Lessons Learnt
Through Nourish Your Bones, the reach of the dietitian was increased as 96% of patients had no prior nutrition referrals.
Additional Information
Total of 24 patients were recruited and attended the programme over 4 sessions between June and September 2024. Patients were identified and recruited by the Multi-Disciplinary Team. Inclusion criteria: Patients with a diagnosis of fracture or total knee replacement (TKR) and a sitting tolerance of 60 minutes. Exclusion criteria: Patients with contact precaution and diagnosis of cognitive impairment.
Keywords
Nutrition, Bone Health, Dietitian, Patient Education, Community Hospital
Innovators' Details
Innovators' Details
Healthcare Cluster(s) | National Healthcare Group |
Organization(s) Involved | Yishun Community Hospital |
Platform(s) | Yishun Health One Improvement Festival |
Healthcare Professional Group(s) | Allied Health |
Applicable Specialty or Discipline | Nutrition ＆ Dietetics |
Project Lead(s) | Srinivasan S, Surtani K |
Project Member(s) | Bacleon Jean |
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KTPH & YCH Innovation & Improvement (I&I) Office - i-i@ktph.com.sg