BDA's twist on speed dating, three quick fire rounds of skill building 'How to's'
This session has now been postponed.
On Wednesday 30 June from 6.30 - 8pm join in BDA's twist on speed dating, three quick fire rounds of skill building 'How to's'
Join our experts for three quick fire rounds of skill building in the BDA’s twist on speed dating! In this workshop each pair of experts will provide a short presentation before splitting into three groups for an open discussion, the chance to ask questions and learn from other delegates. You’ll have the opportunity to visit all three breakout rooms and learn from our experts.
In this workshop we will cover -
- How to involve sponsors in online events, presented by Jo Lewis, Partnerships Manager and Emma Lanza, Partnerships Officer
Jo and Emma will explore how to work with sponsors in the new world of online events.
- What's changed in the new normal?
- How to involve sponsors in online events + pulling together an attractive sponsorship package for sponsors
- Other innovative ways to work with sponsors
- How to price sponsorship for online and face to face events
- Top tips for groups and branches when working with sponsors and supporters
- CAP rules of promoting sponsorship on social media
- How to make the most of the BDA website, presented by Rob Newsome, Digital Content Officer and Tom Tracey, Communications Officer
Rob and Tom will talk about the features available to your group on the BDA website and how you can make the most of them.
- How to use the BDA Brand, presented by Billie-Jane Burch, Communications Officer (Design Services) and Rosa Parker-Hinton, Communications Manager
Join Billie and Rosa who will take you through using the BDA brand to give your Group or Branch a strong identity, design services and how we can support you.
Do you agree or disagree with the proposal for mandatory fortification of nonwholemeal wheat flour in the UK with folic acid to help prevent neural tube defects?
The BDA strongly supports the proposal to fortify flour in the UK with folic acid to reduce the risk of neural tube defects. We are not convinced that restricting this to just non-wholemeal wheat flour is the most effective policy.
This is a policy that has been a very long time coming. In 1991, the Medical Research Council[1] published a report recommending that white flour in the UK was fortified with folic acid as this had been shown in other countries to reduce the risk of neural tube defects (NTD) in foetuses. Mandatory fortification with limits on voluntary supplementation was backed by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) in 2006[2] and again 2017[3]. The Welsh and Scottish Health Ministers wrote to the then Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt in December 2017[4] to urge him to implement UK wide fortification of flour.
We are pleased to have joined many other organisations, including SHINE, the Spina Bifida charity, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and many others in welcoming this proposal and encouraging its adoption. This was most recently articulated in a joint consensus statement signed on 9th September 2019.
Many years of fortification with folic acid in many countries around the world has consistently proved effective in reducing NTDs while having no demonstrable negative impact on health. We also have direct experience of the benefits of fortification of other micronutrients, such as iron, in foods in the UK, with fortified breads and breakfast cereals now providing a significant proportion of many people’s iron intake.
NTDs are a serious health condition. Conditions such as spina bifida cause moderate to severe disability leading to significant suffering and higher health care costs. The prevalence of NTD pregnancies is 1.28 per 1000 total births (19% live births, 81% terminations and 0.5% stillbirths and foetal deaths ≥20 weeks’ gestation). A recent study[5] estimated that more than 2000 NTD pregnancies could have been prevented since 1998 had the UK adopted flour fortification when countries such as the US and Canada did the same. The failure to act on this straightforward policy recommendation made nearly 30 years ago has been a missed opportunity for those families affected.
The most effective way to reduce the risk of NTD’s in individual women, is the intake of folic acid supplements (400ug daily) prior to conception. This is still an important health message that requires strong and consistent communication to women considering pregnancy. However, a significant proportion of pregnancies are unplanned, and taking supplements requires knowledge and organisation, and so this method cannot be fully effective on a population-wide basis, especially among younger women, and those with less access to health information. According to the NDNS[6], 91% of women of childbearing age (16 to 49 years) in the UK as a whole had a red blood cell folate concentration below the threshold (748nmol/L) indicating elevated risk of NTDs. This figure has been rising. Voluntary, self-supplementation has clearly not worked for many women.Have your say on dietitians working in primary care and win a £25 Amazon gift voucher
My name is Debra Williams. I am a freelance dietitian and dietetic lecturer and am currently studying for an MSc in Advanced Professional Practice at the University of Plymouth. As part of my MSc I am doing a research dissertation exploring the views of UK-based dietitians around working in primary health care.
If you are a UK-based dietitian then we want to hear from you. You may be working a combination of freelance/employed. We want to gain from your experience past or present and your views on working in a primary care setting. Even if you haven’t worked in a primary care role we still want your views about the potential opportunities it offers. We want to hear your opinions on the barriers and factors that can aid a dietitian working in primary care. We are also interested to know what training needs dietitians may have so we can better support them to work more effectively in primary care.
I am inviting you to participate in a brief survey that will take no more than 10 – 15 minutes of your time. Your responses will remain confidential and anonymous. For those that wish to be entered into the prize draw email addresses will be collected. The prize draw will be done once the survey results have been analysed. Just enter your email address at the end of the survey to be entered and successful winners will be contacted directly.
If you have any questions or would like to know more about the survey, please contact Debra Williams (Chief Investigator) at [email protected] or Professor Mary Hickson (Supervisor) at [email protected].
How to add news, events and forum posts
Log into the website, go to My BDA and click My Groups and Branch. Click on the group or branch you are the admin of. You should then see the homepage with two buttons at the top: Add announcement and Add an event.
How to add news
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Click Add announcement and enter your title into the Title form box and then the main body text, links and images into the Body box. You can also attach a file.
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Click Submit and your news will be automatically displayed on the homepage of your specialist group – viewable only to members.
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The three most recent announcements will be displayed on the homepage - click View Announcements to view older news.
How to add an event
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Click Add an event and fill in the form.
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When submitted, this is sent to the BDA office Events team who will publish the event which will be displayed on the specialist group homepage.
How to add a discussion
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Under the Announcements and Events, you will find the discussion forum (if your group has chosen to have one).
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Click Start a discussion, add your title and message and tick the Subscribe to notifications for this discussion box to be notified of any responses.
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To view other discussions, click View discussions and subscribe to any discussions you want to be updated on.
Suitable milks for children with cow's milk allergy
If your child is allergic to cows milk, it is very important to replace it with a milk alternative that will provide the same nutrition.
Eat, drink and be healthy this Christmas
Did you know that many people eat their way through about 6,000 calories on Christmas day? That's about three times as much as we need. So, think about your portion sizes and follow these simple tips to help you eat, drink and be healthy.
The ten best things about studying Dietetics
Studying Dietetics is incredibly rewarding, diverse and no day is ever the same. Student Rep Reema Rabheru asked fellow students the reason they most enjoy being a Dietetic student.
BDA suspends industrial action ballot in Northern Ireland
Following a critical meeting with the newly appointed Northern Ireland Health Minister on 15 January, the BDA has taken the decision to suspend our industrial action ballot.
A 5-day digital planner including some of our most popular nutrition tools, with additional advice from Headspace, the NHS and the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists.
Research advances dietetic practice by the utilisation of the evidence base and application of knowledge to improve outcomes and quality of care.* Research should inform and influence all aspects of practice.
Aims
Encouragement of regular critical appraisal of the evidence base to update practice. Support the advancement and development of the evidence base. Facilitation of dissemination of emerging evidence amongst the profession and externally*. Generation and utilisation of research to expand the scope of the profession and to promote the credibility of the profession.
Objectives
Secure protected time to participate in generating or critically appraising research. Encourage the development and maintenance of the necessary skills to facilitate active involvement in research at all levels of the profession (BDA 2007). Facilitate dissemination of emerging research locally, nationally, internationally and across professions, to encourage adaptation of practice in accordance with the evolving evidence base.
Note
*Externally this may include service users (patients and carers), health professionals and the media.
Being the BDA Student Rep 2019/20 has been a wonderful opportunity and a very rewarding experience. I have learned so much about the profession which will benefit my practice for the rest of my career. Highlights include being invited to attend and represent the BDA at the EFAD dietetic conference in Berlin, learning about dietetic research at the BDA Research Symposium, and joining the BDA to talk to many of you about the importance of BDA student membership at BDA visits to universities.
Alison Booker
As a profession we are embracing research to a greater extent than ever, both as consumers of research to enhance our practice and as producers to answer questions. Dietitians are increasingly asking themselves: Why am I practising this way? What if I did this? What do my patients think about that? Come to the symposium and see some of the answers to questions dietitians are asking.
Judy Lawrence
Research Officer | British Dietetic Association
I believe it is very important when working as a dietitian to be part of this highly professional organisation, to keep up to date in my profession. BDA full member dietitian
Dr Duane Mellor RD
Associate Dean, Community Affairs and External Engagement | Aston Medical School