Assessment of Mediterranean Diet Regimen Knowledge among University Employees with Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders

Abstract

Objective(s): To assess knowledge-related Mediterranean diet regimen among the University of Baghdad employees’ with functional gastrointestinal disorders.

Methods: A cross-sectional design was carried out at the University of Baghdad in Bab-Almudam region for the period between August 20^th 2022 to November 20^th 2022. A non-probability sampling was used among (80) employees with functional digestive system disorders. A study instrument was constructed to collect data of knowledge-related Mediterranean diet regimen, which consists of two parts. The first part: socio-demographic characteristics such as: (age, gender, marital status, level of education, living arrangement) and the second part related to employees knowledge: a (45) questions divided into three domains: a (20) questions on the functional digestive system disorders; 13 questions regarding Mediterranean diet; and a (12) questions about the effect of the Mediterranean diet on functional gastrointestinal disorders. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 25. Descriptive and Inferential statistics were utilized to summarize the results.

Results: The study indicated that employees had knowledge deficits (95%) about the Mediterranean diet regimen.

Conclusion: The study showed that there is a lack of employees’ knowledge about the Mediterranean diet regimen.

Recommendations: The study recommends establish Mediterranean diet educational programs for persons with functional digestive disorders to learn how to deal with these disorders, and to improve their adherence to treatment and a healthy diet, in cooperation with the Nutrition Research Institute.