A competency standard for the nutrition workforce in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

There is a growing recognition of the need to develop a competent nutrition workforce in Saudi Arabia, particularly in light of the country's 2030 goals to improve public health and reduce the burden of non communicable diseases. This thesis aims to understand the global consensus on common competencies and the enabling and constraining factors that shape them through a scoping review of the literature, alongside understanding the Saudi nutrition landscape to inform the development of a competency standard for the nutrition workforce in KSA. A three-phase sequential methodology was used. Phase one involved curriculum mapping of 23 undergraduate nutrition programmes across the kingdom. Phases two and three used a mixed-methods approach, comprising a two-round Delphi questionnaire with 129 nutrition-related professionals representing policy makers, managers, academics and practitioners across all Saudi regions, followed by semi-structured online interviews with 23 interviewees from the same groups to explore and contextualise divergent views emerging from the Delphi findings. Quantitative analysis assessed consensus across 46 proposed competency statements within five domains. Response stability between rounds and both associations and differences by background characteristics were analysed using Chi-square and one-way ANOVA. Qualitative thematic analysis of interviews offered insight into why consensus was not achieved for 20 competencies. The findings showed that 26 out of 46 competencies (56%) reached consensus, with ≥75% of panellists identifying them as essential for new graduates. Strong consensus was observed for professional, communication and clinical competencies. However, divergence was observed in evidence-based research, underpinning knowledge and public health and food-related competencies. Interviewees often linked these competencies to occupational roles, boundaries and scope of practice, which could be related to professional identity. These findings highlighted the need to address structural and practical challenges and unify efforts to achieve Vision 2030. This research contributes to the development of an evidence-based competency standard for the Saudi nutrition workforce