Educating Primary Care Providers on Plant-Based Nutrition to Decrease Cardiovascular Disease

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this quality improvement (QI) project was to increase and improve PCPs’ education on the benefits of incorporating a plant-based diet to improve cardiovascular health. The primary care providers were then encouraged to educate their patients that suffer from cardiovascular disease or at risk of cardiovascular disease on the benefits of integrating a plant-based diet in their treatment plan in hopes they will adopt changes to their diet. Background: Cardiovascular disease continues to be the leading cause of mortality remaining a public health crisis. Cardiovascular disease progresses overtime, therefore slowing progression by having appropriate lipid levels is key. Healthy behaviors such as a healthy diet can help in treating and slowing down cardiovascular disease. Healthy plant-based diets have been shown to improve cardiovascular health. Health care professionals need to be prepared to address nutrition to patients as they have a vital role in providing nutritional care. Methods: Guided by the Model for Improvement, healthcare professional participants completed an online educational PowerPoint followed by a pre-post survey to measure a change in participant knowledge and intent to recommend a plant-based to patient with or at risk of cardiovascular disease. Results: All 3 healthcare participants were recruited and agreed to take part in the educational module followed by the pre-post survey. The results of the survey indicated that the educational PowerPoint increased their knowledge on the benefits of a plant-based diet on cardiovascular disease. All participants also agreed to recommend a plant-based diet to their patients. Conclusion: Study findings supported the aim of this quality improvement project. The results indicate that education to providers can help achieve improved knowledge of plant-based nutrition on cardiovascular disease. This encourages providers to recommend a plant-based diet to their patients. Future efforts should include a wider dissemination incorporating more providers and evaluating provider education in hopes they will communicate the benefits of plant-based nutrition to their patients.