Abstract

There is a lack of diversity in health professionals across the United States of America, which is also reflected in the lack of minorities in the field of nutrition and dietetics. Although minorities face higher occurrences of lifestyle illnesses, most health care team members do not look like them, which often leads to health care inequities. Dietetics education programs in the United States have progressively shown a decrease in the recruitment and retention of minority dietetic students (MDS). The lack of minority dietitians not only impacts the profession at present, but it also influences the recruitment and retention of future minority dietitians. The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to explore the perceptions that minority registered dietitians/nutritionists (RDN) have about the recruitment and retention of minority nutrition and dietetics students. Interviews were conducted with 21 minority participants who graduated and obtained their registered dietitian nutritionist credential in 2019 or after. Informed by Tinto's model of student retention and Schlossberg's Transition Theory, a thematic analysis of the interviews was conducted that revealed three major themes (i.e., factors) that influence the recruitment, enrollment, and retention of minority students in nutrition programs: i) Having a strong passion for health sciences and nutrition, ii) Lacking recruitment strategies in program, and iii) Building a network from different cultures with different experiences. Stakeholders and researchers need to be intentional to ensure minorities are recruited, retained, and successfully pass the credentialing exam to become a registered dietitian nutritionist.

Notes

If this is your thesis or dissertation, and want to learn how to access it or for more information about readership statistics, contact us at STARS@ucf.edu

Graduation Date

2022

Semester

Fall

Advisor

Bartee, RoSusan

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

College

College of Community Innovation and Education

Department

Educational Leadership and Higher Education

Degree Program

Educational Leadership; Higher Education Track

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0009410; DP0027133

URL

https://purls.library.ucf.edu/go/DP0027133

Language

English

Release Date

December 2027

Length of Campus-only Access

5 years

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Campus-only Access)

Download

Restricted to the UCF community until December 2027; it will then be open access.

Share

COinS