Changing Physician Attitudes Toward the Ketogenic Diet: A "Parent-Centered" Approach to Physician Education about a Medication Alternative

Alternative medical therapies such as the ketogenic diet are often dismissed by the medical community. We used a "parent-centered" approach to make physicians aware of the ketogenic diet, an alternative therapy for difficult-to control seizures in children. Parents became aware of the diet through national TV and film. Written and video information was made available to them and they were encouraged to ask their physicians about the potential usefulness of the ketogenic diet for their child. Between 1994 and 1999 we assessed the success of this approach with three surveys of all U.S. child neurologists. This "parent-centered" approach increased physician knowledge about the diet, but had little effect on its use. Despite evidence of its effectiveness, physicians continued to reserve its use until children had failed most new anticonvulsants. Physicians say they would use it more often if "it worked better" and if they "had a dietitian with more experience." (C) 2001 Elsevier Science