Standardization of dietary management for pregnant women with diabetes in outpatient care: development and validation of a protocol in the context of a university hospital
diet therapy; gestational diabetes; clinical protocols
Diabetes during pregnancy constitutes a relevant public health challenge, requiring care strategies that support maternal glycemic control and the prevention of adverse maternal-fetal outcomes. In the context of public health services, the lack of systematization in dietary management may hinder the uniformity of professional practices, continuity of care, and quality of nutritional records. This study aimed to develop and validate a standardized dietary management protocol for pregnant women with diabetes receiving outpatient care at a university hospital in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. The proposal was justified by the need to organize nutritional care and qualify care practices by integrating scientific evidence and institutional reality. This was an applied methodological study with a quantitative approach, based on Design Science Research (DSR). The study was developed through a retrospective documentary analysis of 60 institutional documents from the nutrition sector related to outpatient follow-up of pregnant women with diabetes, combined with a scoping review that included 37 studies and supported the development of the artifact. Validation was conducted through content and appearance assessment by seven expert judges in the field of Nutrition, using the Content Validation Coefficient (CVC). The results showed heterogeneity in the documentary organization of nutritional practices and absence of formal standardization in the records analyzed. In the validation stage, all criteria presented CVC values above the established cutoff point, with an overall CVC of 0.98, indicating high agreement among the experts. As the final product, the Dietary Management Protocol for Pregnant Women with Diabetes in Outpatient Nutritional Care was developed and validated as a technical-operational instrument aimed at systematizing practices, improving nutritional records, and supporting continuity of nutritional care.