Years of observations of nutrition counselors conducting open discussions with clients
reveal that asking effective open-ended questions is a limiting factor during these
exchanges.
1
,
2
Educators and counselors are aware of the nature of open-ended questions, which usually
begin with who, what, when, where, why, and how. They avoid simple, limited “yes”
or “no” responses and are often used to initiate conversation. By providing the opportunity
to reflect and engage in conversation, such questions elicit opinions and rich descriptions
of experiences. Open-ended questions are often used by psychotherapists to encourage
patients to share relevant information.
3
Use of effective open-ended questions is the cornerstone of motivational interviewing
technique, which uses discussion to help guide clients to overcome ambivalence and
move toward behavior change.
4
Motivational interviewing and open discussion techniques are increasingly being used
by nutrition educators and registered dietitians to effect behavior change in their
clients.
5
,
6
,
7
,
8
In outpatient settings, facilitating support groups with open discussion to manage
conditions, such as overweight and diabetes, is common,
9
,
10
,
11
whereas in inpatient and community settings, more targeted participant-centered interviewing
techniques are often recommended.
6
,
12
,
13
The success of these approaches to counseling is largely dependent on using the correct
type of open-ended questions.
- •Example of a poor question: “What foods that you normally eat are high in calcium?”
- •Example of a better question: “How do you make sure that you are getting enough calcium in your diet?”
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References
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- Evaluation of the Massachusetts WIC program's Getting to the Heart of the Matter (GHM) Pilot Study.(National Agricultural Library website) (Published March 2011. Accessed January 6, 2012)
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: February 09, 2013
Available online 9 February 2013Footnotes
This article was written by Rayane AbuSabha, PhD, RD, professor, Nutrition Science Department, The Sage Colleges, Troy, NY.
Identification
Copyright
© 2013 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
