Communicating about eating behaviors. A qualitative study of Chilean women and their health-care providers.
Good communication between health care providers (HCPs) and patients is critical in achieving positive health outcomes. The purpose of this article was to compare the perceptions of Chilean woman and their HCPs with respect to determinants of eating behaviors. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with women (n=15) visiting a public health care center in Chile and with their HCPs (n=8) who were in charge of promoting healthy eating behaviors among women. Data from the interviews indicated similarities and inconsistencies in determinants of eating behaviors between the groups. Both mentioned many important factors that influence women's eating behaviors, including food preferences, dietary knowledge, self-control and self-efficacy, family, food cost, and food availability. HCPs appeared to be less aware of the role that personality traits and past experiences play as potential determinants which women mentioned. In contrast, women were less aware of the influence of anxiety and low self-esteem on eating choices, which HCPs noted as key factors. Although it was encouraging to see agreement between women and their HCPs in some areas, it is important to work on increasing understanding among the groups with respect to the important role psychological factors play in influencing eating behavior. We suggest that HCPs should focus on the importance of women's personality traits and past eating behaviors, as well as work on improving women's self-esteem and helping to decrease their anxiety levels. HCPs should be encouraged to develop good communication with each person in order to help them understand the roles that external and internal factors play in eating behaviors.
['Gálvez|Patricia|P|', 'Valencia|Alejandra|A|', 'Palomino|Ana M|AM|', 'Cataldo|Marjorie|M|', 'Schwingel|Andiara|A|']
D000328:Adult D001007:Anxiety D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel D001294:Attitude to Health D001364:Awareness D002648:Child D002983:Clinical Competence D003142:Communication D004032:Diet D005247:Feeding Behavior D005260:Female D015438:Health Behavior D006282:Health Personnel D006801:Humans D008875:Middle Aged D010465:Perception D011369:Professional-Patient Relations D036301:Qualitative Research D012649:Self Concept
eating behaviors Health care providers woman eating behavior determinants public health center