Identifying Nursing Students' Misconceptions Concerning Long-Term Weight Loss Recommendations: A Phenomenographic Study.

Aim: To gain insight into nursing students' learning by exploring misconceptions in their understanding of long-term dietary recommendations given for weight loss in overweight or obese patients.

Design: A phenomenographic research approach was used.

Methods: The study was conducted within a nursing degree university programme. A total of 146 first-year undergraduate nursing students took part. Data were collected using an open-ended question pretest-posttest. Phenomenographic analysis was carried out to construct categories of student understanding.

Results: Four phenomenographic categories were differentiated in hierarchical order, ranging from the highest to the lowest quality of reasoning. Two primary misconceptions were identified: the recommendation to drink water as the only step for weight loss, and the advice to consult another health professional without a nutritional assessment by the nurse prior to patient referral. The misconception about water intake persisted despite instruction, whereas the misunderstanding about the role of nurses in dietary advice prior to consulting other health professionals was corrected.

Patient or public contribution: No patient or public contribution.