Approaches to Dietary Cultural Inclusivity in Healthcare Settings

Nutrition and food services in community and institutional healthcare settings often exclude the dietary norms and preferences of culturally diverse patients. Studies suggest a lack of knowledge and awareness about culturally diverse cuisines is a primary barrier to provision of culturally relevant nutrition services. This presentation will first provide a background on the need for culturally relevant nutrition services and dietary options in healthcare settings. Then, the speaker will demonstrate a novel, web-based, point-of-care resource to support RDNs in providing culturally tailored nutrition services from a comprehensive nutrition assessment through care planning and education. One educational resource that will be highlighted is an interactive, educational tool to provide recommendations of culturally relevant spices and herbs to clients across the lifespan.

Suggested Performance Indicators: 
2.4.4, 6.2.7, 10.3.4, 10.4.2, 11.2.12, 11.2.9

3. Describe the utility of a point-of-care web-based tool to support culturally tailored nutrition services and dietary options in healthcare settings.

Dr. Mina Raj is an Assistant professor in health and kinesiology at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign. She received her PhD and Master of Public Health degrees from the University of Michigan. Dr. Raj’s research focuses on identifying novel opportunities for technology to enhance dietary cultural inclusivity in healthcare settings. In particular, Dr. Raj focuses on improving access to culturally relevant nutrition services and resources for older adults and their caregivers.