Purpose
Physicians are well-positioned to provide nutritional care, yet most feel ill-equipped due to limited nutritional knowledge and counseling skills. While previous studies, including our own work gathering feedback from medical students, faculty, residents, physicians and allied health workers, have assessed physician perspectives on nutritional competency, few have examined community perspectives. This study extends our prior research by incorporating perspectives from community stakeholders to explore experiences and expectations regarding nutritional education and the physician’s role in nutritional care.

Methods
Community members aged 18+ from northeast and central Pennsylvania participated in an anonymous 44-question survey over an 8-week period, distributed through community partners. Survey data was collected and analyzed in Qualtrics.

Results
169 participants took the survey. 91% said it was extremely (56%) or very (35%) important for physicians to have good nutritional understanding, and 67% wanted doctors to play a more active role in their nutritional care. 25% said nutritional concerns were never addressed, while 5% said always. Time constraints and lack of formal nutrition training were the most lacking skills in physicians. Conflicting and overwhelming information were the greatest barriers to accessing nutritional information.

Conclusion
Survey participants agreed it is essential for physicians to have good nutritional knowledge. While most participants want their doctor to play a more active role in nutritional care, barriers include limited time and insufficient formal training. Suggested improvements included providing nutrition resources, regular discussions, and updates on nutrition research.