Benefits of Family Meals With Adolescents: Nurse Practitioners' Perspective

Participating in at least 5 meals a week as a family can positively impact an adolescent's life. This study assessed nurse practitioners' (NPs') knowledge of family meal benefits to teens and the time they spent assessing and educating families regarding family meals. Results suggested that NPs were fairly aware of the benefits, with younger NPs more knowledgeable than older NPs; however, only a small percentage of time was spent on assessment and education related to family meal frequency and benefits. The more knowledgeable the practitioners were on this topic, the more often they assessed and educated patients.