Project number: 2018-092
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $69,043.99
Principal Investigator: Nicole Senior
Organisation: Professional Nutrition Services
Project start/end date: 8 Jul 2018 - 20 Dec 2018
Contact:
FRDC

Need

The present application will build extensively on the previous nutrition research of Somerset and Bowerman by engaging health professionals in evidence-based and practical communication material which they can use to assist consumers in integrating seafood towards more healthy and sustainable dietary choices.

Dr Gabrielle O’Kane, a board member of the Dietitians Association of Australia, has also been conducting multi-disciplinary research focusing on the barriers and drivers of fish consumption in Australia. On the 18 May 2017, Dr O’Kane gave an oral presentation ‘Aligning sustainability and nutrition goals in Australian seafood consumption’ at the 34th National DAA conference in Hobart, reporting on the findings of the advice related to seafood consumption provided by APDs and PHNs to their clients. The findings showed that APDs and PHNs are uncertain as to where to find reliable evidence-based information on sustainable seafood stocks. The conference had over 600 delegates and there was keen interest in the Nutrition in Public Health, Community and the Environment stream of concurrent sessions, of which this presentation was a part. See the link http://daa2017.com.au/cms/wp-content/uploads/DAA-2017-Final-Program-as-of-24-April-2017.pdf. Dr Carolyn Stewardson was able to assist Dr O’Kane with sourcing clear, summarised information on the status of Australian wild fish stocks in advance of the conference, which was well-received by delegates. One of the key take home message of Dr O’Kane's presentation was to check the sites www.fish.gov.au and www.fishfiles.com.au.

There is a clear gap in the provision of evidence-based information on (i) performance of fisheries management/status of Australia’s fish stocks and (ii) the health benefits and recommendations around eating fish, to this sector. Dietary recommendations for fish intake presents a conflict between desired outcomes for environmental sustainability and health.

Objectives

1. Gather evidence-based information about the nutritional benefits and recommendations of seafood, and the performance of fisheries management/status of Australian fish stocks(Original objective: Translate FRDC's nutritional data and fish stock status information into simple, credible educational resources for health professionals and consumers according to their expressed needs and wants)
2. Translate this into a credible educational resource for health professionals according to their expressed needs and wants(Original objective: Effectively disseminate these resources through DAA, PHAA and Practice Nurses Association to health professionals in Australia for distribution into the wider community)
3. Effectively disseminate this resource to nutrition professionals and practice nurses in Australia for distribution into the wider community

Magazine

Author: Senior Nicole and Stewardson Carolyn
Magazine • 2019-05-01 • 4.19 MB
2018-092 Food_Australia_April-May 2019.pdf

Summary

Seafood is a nutritionally important food and an inherent part of Australian eating culture. However, consumers are often unsure which seafood to eat. This is for a range of reasons, including not knowing enough about the defining features of differing species or how to prepare and cook them, as well as concerns about sustainability.
 
In 2018 the FRDC commissioned resources to better equip health professionals to support their clients and communities to eat the recommended amounts of seafood and encourage them to choose Australian sustainable seafood. The suite of resources includes an evidence review of seafood and health, an online brochure and a collection of family friendly recipes using Australian sustainable seafood species. The resources can be accessed at www.fishfiles.com.au
Final Report • 2020-02-01 • 3.85 MB
2018-092-DLD.pdf

Summary

The overall goal for this project was to translate, integrate and communicate contemporary scientific knowledge on the performance of fisheries management/status of Australia’s fish stocks, and the health benefits of eating seafood, to the Australian community through a partnership between Accredited Practising Dietitians (APDs), primary health care nurses, public health nutritionists, food technologists, home economists and the FRDC.
This research is important because health professionals are an important influencer group on food choice and a key channel for food education.
Both health professionals themselves, and their clients, will benefit from this research. It provides scientific, evidence-based information health professionals can trust when educating patients and communities about seafood for health and sustainability. It provides them with information they need and want, but it also provides information they can share with their patients, clients and communities. Ultimately, it can steer Australians toward more sustainable seafood choices.
The key finding is that providing evidence-based information of seafood for health and sustainability to health professionals fulfilled an unmet need in this group that allows them to better support their patients, clients and communities.
As a result of this project, FRDC and seafood sector stakeholders can consider health professionals an additional influential channel for disseminating information of seafood
health and sustainability. The primary outcome of this project was to raise awareness about the nutritional benefits and recommendations of seafood, and the performance of fisheries management/status of Australian fish stocks via empowering health professionals to relay evidence based information (new resources and the FRDC website) to the wider community. Importantly, these resources were developed according to needs and wants of health professionals and consumers.

Related research

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Environment
People