Course syllabus for Nutrition and disease - treatment and clinical aspects

Nutrition och sjukdom - behandling och kliniska aspekter

Specific entry requirements

At least grade pass for the course "Diet and health - scientific evidence, recommendations and sustainability" (4NT000, 4NT021) within the Master's Programme in Nutrition Science.

Outcomes

After completion of the course, the student should be able to:

• identify and evaluate methods used in clinical and research settings for screening and diagnosing malnutrition, sarcopenia, and obesity.
• describe the pathophysiological mechanisms of common diseases where nutrition plays a therapeutic or symptom-relieving role.
• interpret and apply dietary guidelines and scientific evidence to develop evidence-based individualized nutrition therapy for individuals with diseases for which nutrition care is a central component of treatment or symptom relief.
• suggest, discuss and motivate evidence-based nutrition therapy by adapting nutrient recommendations into food choices, considering factors that influence eating behavior (e.g., gender, psychosocial, cultural, economic, and environmental).
• describe the role of interprofessional collaboration in the nutritional management of the treatment of diseases for which nutrition care is a central component of treatment or symptom relief.
• reflect on ethical aspects in the nutritional treatment of diseases.
• reflect on how artificial intelligence can be used in clinical nutrition.

Content

The course deals with common diseases, for which nutrition care can play a significant role in the treatment and/or for mitigating symptoms. During the course, the different diseases are discussed considering different aspects of relevance when providing nutrition therapy to individuals, such as physiological mechanisms, psychosocial, cultural and economic factors, including global aspects. During the course, the understanding of the scientific evidence for nutrition therapy of disease, and how this translates into evidence-based practice, is emphasised.

Teaching methods

This course consists of seminars, group work, discussion of clinical cases, workshops, lectures, individual assignments and discussions.

Examination

The course is examined through a written exam (graded Pass/Fail) as well as an individual written report and oral presentation (graded Pass with distinction/Pass/Fail).

To pass the course, all examinations must fulfil the criteria for Pass. For grade Pass with distinction on the whole course, grade Pass with distinction on the individual written report and oral presentation is required. The grading criteria for all examinations are provided in the study guide or on Canvas.

Students who do not pass their first examination have the right to be examined on five additional occasions. After six failed examinations, no further examination opportunity is given. A student who has failed two examinations for a course or part of a course, is entitled to have another examiner appointed unless special reasons speak against it.

Compulsory participation:
Group work and some seminars are compulsory. The examiner assesses if and, in that case, how absence from compulsory parts can be compensated. Before the student has participated in all compulsory parts or compensated absence according with the examiner's instructions, the student's study results cannot be finalized. Absence from a compulsory activity may result in that the student cannot compensate absence until the next time the course is given.

If there are special reasons, or need for adaptions for a student with a disability, the examiner may decide to depart from the syllabus's regulations on examination form, number of examination opportunities, possibility of complementation of or exemption from compulsory activities, etc. Content and learning outcomes as well as the level of expected skills, knowledge and abilities must not be altered, removed or lowered.

Other directives

The course language is English.

This course replaces the course Nutrition and disease - treatment and clinical aspects, 10 credits (4NT004) and cannot be included in a degree together with the latter course.