Nutrition and Physical Fitness 2024 Spring Report
by Susan M. Kleiner, PhD, RD, FACN, CNS, FISSN
MEET Nutrition and Physical Fitness Team Leader, May 2024
The Spring 2024 collaboration with the CTUMP Nutrition Department was a SUCCESS! Mr. Duong Phuc Phan, BSc. did a marvelous job coordinating our week at CTUMP, including fun social activities when time allowed. The original 3 faculty members, Drs. Nam, Hue and Hien, are all working on PhD degrees in nutrition. Dr. Nam and Dr. Hien have been studying in Thailand. Dr. Nam just completed his degree and has graduated. He will return to CTUMP in May. Dr. Hue has been studying in Hanoi, and both she and Dr. Hien continue their research programs.
View various pictures from the 2024 Spring Program in Can Tho provided by Dr. Sue Kleiner.
Four new faculty members have been hired, and all are trained clinical dietitians, one with a master’s degree. They are now responsible for the medical school curriculum in nutrition. There is also a new plan to develop a clinical dietetics curriculum for CTUMP. Academic programs are beginning to be available in Hanoi and HCMC, and CTUMP would like to create an anchor program in the Mekong Delta.
Nutrition is also gaining respect among the medical specialties, and a recognition that medical nutrition therapy is essential for better patient outcomes. The nutrition assessment protocol for high-risk patients that was instituted at the CTUMP hospital in 2019 has continued and is now supported by a team. The hospital canteen has just been reconfigured as a kitchen to prepare foods for certain patients.
Area hospitals are also eager to learn and adapt nutrition programming for patients. Dr. Susan Kleiner and Dr. Richard “Ricco” Swinbourne spoke at the Oncology Hospital (CTOH), and the OB-GYN Hospital (CTGOH). CTGOH invited visitors from the largest oncology hospital in HCMC to attend Dr. Kleiner’s lectures.
Unfortunately, our time was limited. Each hospital would have preferred that we spend an entire week at each of their facilities. They have indicated that their needs are great, with the largest requests for medical nutrition therapy during cancer care, enteral (and possibly parenteral) nutrition, diabetes support, reproductive, maternal and child nutritional support, lifecycle nutrition and menopause. There is also a great interest in lifestyle medicine and exercise as medicine.
The following presentations were given.
CTUMP
- Sarcopenia and Protein Consumption - Dr. Susan Kleiner
- Evaluating and synthesizing research for application – Dr. Ricco Swinbourne
- Outdoor activities teaching exchange:
- Basic theories of nutrition in sports; introduce some basic exercises.
– Dr. Ricco Swinbourne
- Nutritional consulting skills with English Club:
- Theories and practice in groups – Dr. Ricco Swinbourne
- Nutrition workshop: Nutrition boosts immunity and sleep health
- Female health: energy, nutrients, and immune function – Dr. Susan Kleiner
- Boost immunity: diet and antioxidants – Dr. Ricco Swinbourne
CTGOH
- Nutritional care of perimenopause and menopausal women – Dr. Susan Kleiner
- Mediterranean diet in reducing the risk of gestational diabetes – Dr. Ricco Swinbourne
- Working group with gestational diabetes team: prevention, screening and management.
- Planning for routine meeting of group, researchers, update in the future. – Dr. Ricco Swinbourne
CTOH
- Nutrition for cancer prevention – Dr. Susan Kleiner
- Sleep and cancer prevention – Dr. Ricco Swinbourne
We held planning meetings for the future at both CTGOH and CTOH, and at CTUMP. Our team would like to develop further expertise in medical nutrition therapy, oncology nutrition, enteral/parenteral nutrition, institutional food safety, reproductive health, ob-gyn care, peri-, menopause, and post-menopause nutrition, and clinical dietetic curriculum design. Educational opportunities can be both online and in-person.
Future Plan
Dr. Kleiner will begin to recruit members with the needed expertise noted above with the goal to have either in-person or online experts to share with our colleagues at all sites in Can Tho sometime within this year and/or before Spring 2025.
Dr. Swinbourne will return to Can Tho in June 2024. Here is his update:
- “I have arranged with Dr Binh to revisit CTGOH between the dates 10-14 June inclusive to kickstart the interventions we derived from my time there last. Namely we will start a physical activity intervention to assess the impact of less time in bed and resistance exercise (light, volume based and using bands) on BSL We will do a listeria audit, and some in house upskilling in nutrition and behaviour change for gest diabetes. I will connect with the Oncology hospital to begin a work up of the sleep screening tool we will implement there.”
Dr. Swinbourne’s availability is fantastic, and he is a tremendous asset to our team and our collaboration.
The progress at CTUMP, the faculty, and surrounding hospitals in developing nutrition programs and protocols has been amazing. With just a little support and confirmation that they were heading in a good direction, our colleagues are creating a field of clinical dietetics with an academic structure and practical application in Can Tho. It is very exciting.
