Dietitians and nutritionists behaviour on Social Media: a scoping literature review

Abstract

At its present state, Social Media (SM) is an important stage to promote user participation, acting as an open space for the discussion of a multitude of fields, one of which being health. Professionals, like Registered Nutritionists and Dietitians (RNDs), whose access to media was traditionally more restricted, are also more engaged in this new context, creating a new scenario. To better understand how is this group of professionals using social media to communicate with their audiences is the main objective of this study. To approach this topic, a mapping was conducted, followed by a presentation of the summary of the evidence discovered: RDNs demographic and professional profile; their most used social media tools; the reasons why they use social media; their common behaviours and attitudes, as well as a review of the gaps and shortcomings in the literature. A literature review, using a structured approach was also conducted. 2877 works were screened, but only 8 were associated with answers. Of these 8, there were 2 studies that partially presented a quantitative analysis. Results show lacks in consolidated studies that can be used to support the creation of knowledge in this field. This lead to conclude that research about social media usage by nutritionist, at present, remains in a nascent stage and requires further studies.