Background and aim: Capacity building and training a specialized human resourse in order to assess and provide solution(s) for the community nutrition problems, require an integrated approach. This study aimed to analyze the current situation and output of the Ph.D. program in nutritional sciences in Iran over the last decade.
Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was performed using a mixed-method approach in 2024. The program output was measured through collecting information concerning dissertations' title and abstracts, as well as the graduates' employment status, age, gender, and minor (sub-specialty). The information was obtained from the graduates using an information sheet. To identify the current challenges and weakness of the nutrition Ph.D. program in the universities, twenty in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with key informants.
Results: Over the past decade, a total of 324 individuals have been graduated from nine universities in Iran which offer the program. The most common minors selected by the graduates were epidemiology, clinical nutrition, and pharmacology (22.8%, 22.8%, and 11.1%, respectively). Clinical trials (79.7%) and observational-analytical studies (14.6%) were the most frequent study designs. Nearly two-thirds of dissertations focused on the organism level, with few addressing community or cell levels. Dissertation topic selection was influenced by program duration, publication opportunities, supervisor expertise, and university facilities. Main barriers in choosing cell and/or community topics included a lack of focus on community nutrition issues within the PhD program, weakness in interdisciplinary research and systemic approach, and insufficient emphasis on product-oriented approach.
Conclusion: The findings reveal a lack of clear policies guiding education and research within the nutrition PhD program towards national needs. A paradigm shifts in nutrition research, refocusing PhD training towards community research needs and frontiers on sceince, is prioritized.