Nutrition Care for Chronic Conditions

This unit examines common chronic conditions and their nutrition-related management, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, kidney disease, food safety, and gastrointestinal disorders. Students interpret clinical case data, design evidence-based therapeutic meal plans, practice safe food-handling techniques, and prepare patient education and care plans that connect to advanced clinical practice in subsequent units.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze pathophysiology and nutrition implications of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and kidney disease by interpreting case data (labs, diet histories, and symptoms) to identify nutritional risk factors and priorities for intervention.
• Apply evidence-based dietary interventions and therapeutic meal-planning strategies (including macronutrient distribution, carbohydrate counting, sodium/potassium modification, and fluid management) tailored to clients with cardiovascular, diabetic, renal, and common gastrointestinal conditions.
• Demonstrate proper food-safety and sanitation practices (including storage, temperature control, cross-contamination prevention, and special handling for immunocompromised patients) and explain their role in preventing foodborne illness in clinical populations.
• Evaluate and develop patient-centered education and care plans for cardiovascular and gastrointestinal conditions using culturally appropriate communication, health literacy principles, and criteria for interdisciplinary referral and follow-up.