Ethical Practices & Evidence-Based Guidelines Flashcards

A CSSD learns during counseling that a professional athlete is using a banned substance not related to nutrition. The practitioner's obligation is to:

Answer: Document the disclosure and consult legal and ethical guidance, as mandatory reporting for banned substances is not a standard dietitian obligation

CSSDs are not mandatory reporters for doping violations; they should document carefully, seek guidance, and maintain professional boundaries.

An athlete's coach pressures the CSSD to provide a nutrition strategy that contradicts evidence-based harm-reduction principles. The CSSD should:

Answer: Communicate evidence-based concerns to the coach and prioritize athlete health, escalating if necessary

The CSSD's primary obligation is to athlete wellbeing; they must advocate for evidence-based care even under institutional pressure.

Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) clinical guidelines are classified as evidence-based because they are:

Answer: Developed using systematic literature review and expert consensus with explicit evidence grading

IOC consensus statements on RED-S employ systematic evidence review and graded recommendations, meeting evidence-based practice standards.

A CSSD working with a weight-class sport athlete is asked to help the athlete make weight through severe restriction the week before competition. The practitioner should:

Answer: Educate the athlete on health and performance risks and decline to facilitate harmful restriction

Beneficence and non-maleficence require the CSSD to refuse facilitating practices with documented health risks while providing athlete education.

Which type of study is most susceptible to confounding when assessing a dietary pattern's effect on athletic recovery?

Answer: Observational cohort study

Observational cohort studies cannot control for unmeasured confounders that may explain associations between diet and recovery outcomes.

A CSSD is asked to provide a testimonial for an athlete client's social media post praising a commercial nutrition product. The ethical concern is primarily:

Answer: The testimonial implies professional endorsement without independent evidence review and requires disclosure of the professional relationship

Professional testimonials can mislead the public and require both an evidence basis and clear disclosure of any professional-client relationship.

The concept of 'clinical equipoise' in sports nutrition research ethics means:

Answer: Genuine uncertainty exists in the expert community about which intervention is superior

Clinical equipoise justifies withholding one intervention from a control group only when there is genuine uncertainty about superiority.