Nutritional knowledge of nursing students: A systematic literature review

To investigate basic, specific and self-care knowledge on nutrition in nursing students, through a literature review and by identifying studies that suggest teaching methodologies used to implement undergraduate nutrition teaching in nursing curricula. A systematic literature search was conducted in the PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Scopus and Cochrane Library. The process of screening, selection and inclusion of the articles, as well as the assessment of risk of bias and methodological quality was independently conducted by two reviewers. Out of 1361 records identified, 23 were included in this review. Nursing students showed poor knowledge of basic and specific nutrition demonstrating a lack of knowledge also about nutritional self-care. The implementation of alternative teaching methods, such as active teaching strategies improved the students' knowledge of the subject. The use of nutrition-focused, especially active, teaching methodologies during undergraduate nursing education can remedy the lack of knowledge on this topic. This approach should also be used in postgraduate education.