During 2020 the BDA wanted to know the best way to nutritionally care for people recovering from a COVID-19 infection. A group of expert healthcare professionals came together to form the knowledge hub team.
Meet the team
Mary Hickson
Professor of Dietetics, University of Plymouth
Gary Frost
Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics, Imperial College London
Jane Murphy
Professor of Nutrition, Bournemouth University
Liz Weekes
Consultant Dietitian and Research Lead, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust
Senior Clinical Lecturer, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Anna Julian
Advanced Specialist Dietitian, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
Abigail Tronco Hernandez PhD, RNutr
HCPC Dietitian
Lecturer in Nutrition, University of Plymouth
We talked to healthcare professionals and people recovering from COVID-19. We asked them to share their experiences about nutrition, diet and COVID-19. We also looked at research and guidelines about nutrition and diet in COVID-19. We used this information to develop the Nutrition and COVID-19 Recovery Knowledge Hub.
Our sincere thanks go to all the members of our panels and our reviewers.
Panel members
Patients
- Amy
- Aquarius
- Imogen Canavan
- Andrea Hepworth
- David Mulford
- S Newman
- Michael Panayi
- Judith Parsons
- Naila Shadi
- Penny Tassoni
Professionals
- Elaine Anderson – Dietitian
- Liz Anderson – Nurse
- Jenny Camaradou – Research Development Consultant
- George Coxon – Mental Nurse and Care Home Representative
- Hayley Henderson – Pharmacist
- Dr Anne Holdoway – Dietitian
- Caroline Hughes – Food2You Manager
- Dr Jackie McRae – Speech and Language Therapist
- Lynsey Spillman – Dietitian
- Alison Smith – Dietitian
- Ghislaine Swinburn – Dietitian
- Carol Wilson – Occupational Therapist and Psychotherapist
Reviewers
Members of the public
- Penny Tassoni
- Naila Shadi
- Jenny Child
- Michael Panayi
- Imogen Canavan
- Kate Mack
- S Newman
- Sarah Smith
Healthcare professionals
- Dr A Nathan - General Practitioner, London
- Abigail Stothard - Physiotherapist, University Hospital Birmingham post-Covid-19 clinic
- Alison Smith - Prescribing Support Consultant Dietitian, BDA
- Dr Anita Mottram - Occupational Therapist, Kirklees Council
- Donna Thomas - Registered nurse, district nurse and practice teacher, MSc Advanced Practice
- Dr Hannah Oram - GP, Clare House Surgery
- Dr Kirsty Horne - Principal Clinical Psychologist, NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde
- Laura Breach (BSc, MSc, MCSP) - Physiotherapist
- Sarah Britton - Registered Dietitian, British Dietetic Association, Chair of Optimising Nutrition Prescribing Group
- Sarah Pitt - Registered Nurse (Adult)
- Victoria Bradshaw - Physiotherapy, South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Vittoria Romano - Registered Dietitian, British Dietetic Association, Older People Specialist Group
Who is the knowledge hub for?
The knowledge hub is for all adults. There is a section for adults recovering from COVID-19 and the general public. There is also a section for those working in health and social care roles. The hub does not provide information for children and young people under the age of 18.
Why have a knowledge hub?
Nutritional care is important in COVID-19 recovery. Many of the wide range of symptoms are affected or influenced by diet and nutrition. The knowledge hub provides a single place to find research and recommendations about nutrition and COVID-19 recovery.
It supports people recovering from COVID-19 and the general public by providing:
- Easy to read summaries of the research about nutrition, diet and eating during COVID-19 recovery
- Safe nutritional information
- Links to resources and further information
It is helpful for people working in health and social care settings to understand that diet can influence COVID-19 recovery. They should know how to signpost people for support or advice. They also need to help manage symptoms and support nutritional care. Knowing when and how to refer to a dietitian is also important. People working in health and social care settings should be provided with training and/or support to do this.
The knowledge hub is important for people working in health and social care as it provides:
- The evidence for nutritional care and dietary advice in COVID-19 recovery
- Safe and recommended nutritional care following COVID-19 infection
- Links to resources and further information
What we did
We used a survey to collect information and evidence about nutrition and COVID-19. We reviewed published research and talked to expert panels. We used this information to develop consensus statements about nutrition and COVID-19.
- In 2020 we asked dietitians about the nutritional care given to patients recovering from COVID-19. We learned about the pathways of nutritional care for COVID-19 patients and new ways of working. Read more about this study.
- We looked at published research from the start of the pandemic until March 2021. We focused on studies and papers about the nutritional care of patients with COVID-19 infection in hospital. Using a 'rapid review' we summarised this evidence: Strategies to ensure continuity of nutritional care in patients with COVID-19 infection on discharge from hospital: A rapid review.
- We had two expert panels review the information from publications, healthcare professionals and people recovering from COVID-19. These panels produced consensus statements about nutrition and COVID-19. This knowledge hub is the result of this work.
Funding
The project to create the Knowledge Hub was funded by the BDA General and Education Trust Fund which exists “to advance education and other charitable purposes related to the science of dietetics.” This Trust can make grants to any individual or organisation engaged in dietetic research or related activities.