5.1: ICDEP and Developing Competency in ABR

Mikahelia Wellington; Sherana Syed; Emanuel Tessema

📈 Chapter 5: Room for Improvement. Change from the Ground Up

40 5.1: ICDEP and Developing Competency in ABR

“Knowledge is a garden. If it isn’t cultivated, you can’t harvest it.”- African Proverb

Addressing ABR involves adapting approaches that promote equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) within dietetics. These practices aim to facilitate student engagement, curriculum integration, and increase representation to enhance ABR training for students, educators, and practicing Registered Dietitians (RDs). This chapter provides an introductory guide to recognizing and initiating these practices to create a more inclusive and equitable profession.

Gaps in Education and Governance

The regulatory bodies, professional dietetic organizations and dietetic programs in Canada lack comprehensive acknowledgement, strategic plans, and curricula on cultural humility and the social determinants of health, leaving current and future dietitians unaccountable and ill-equipped to address the unique needs of diverse populations. Addressing these gaps requires a fundamental reorientation of dietetic education to prioritize equity, diversity, and inclusion (Balde & Perreault, 2026; Ng, Wellington & Pabani, 2024; Henry & Tator, 2009).

Continuing Education

Practicing dietitians may have limited opportunities for continuing education on ABR, resulting in outdated knowledge and practices that do not align with current understanding of health equity and social justice (Ng, Wellington, Pabani, 2024). Although some institutions may recommend or advocate for anti-oppression, cultural humility or anti-racist education, many do not provide these resources and training, which is often not mandated (Balde & Perreault). Investing in ongoing professional development that centers on anti-racist education is essential for advancing equitable nutrition care in Canada (Braveman et al., 2022; National Museum of African American History and Culture, n.d.).

Professional Norms

The norms and values embedded within the dietetics profession can perpetuate systemic biases, hindering efforts to promote health equity. Challenging these norms requires a commitment to dismantling institutionalized racism within dietetics and fostering a culture of inclusivity, accountability, and social responsibility (ACLRC, n.d.; Braveman et al., 2022).

In their 2026 investigation of websites and annual reports, Balde & Perrault found that before 2020, the norm within Canadian dietetic regulatory bodies and professional associations was a complete neglect of anti-Black racism, leading to Black erasure and contributing to systemic oppression (Balde & Perrault, 2026). This was followed by a slow rise in cultural humility and anti-racist education by a “wave of anti–racist actions following the murder of George Floyd” in 2020, which prompts concerns regarding performative activism. Although some institutions have worked beyond organizational acknowledgement statements towards developing anti-Black racism strategic plans and policies, this is not the norm. We will highlight Balde & Perrault’s recommendations for how institutions should engage in meaningful anti-racist work in Chapter 6.6: Anti-Oppressive Policy Development.

Although the governing organization has dissolved, check out the full Integrated Competencies for Dietetic Practice (PDF), established by the Partnership for Dietetic Education and Practice/ Partenariat pour la formation et la pratique en nutrition (Dietitians of Canada, 2015), to see how they stand up to Balde & Perrault’s recommendations.

You may also access the Toronto Metropolitan University School of Nutrition’s ICDEP Activity Reference Guide for a version of the competencies that you do not need to download (Toronto Metropolitan University, n.d.).

Among the many challenges faced by BIPOC dietetic students in Canada, Wellington, Lee, Ng and Mensah, also mention the gaps they discovered in their dietetic educational experience (2021). You may learn more by reading their paper entitled Opening the door to dialogue: Experiences from equity-seeking students in dietetic education.

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Stop and Reflect

Part 1

Reflect on your education and professional development growth thus far.

What kind of courses, workshops and conferences were you required to take?
What elective opportunities were available?
Take a look at the current curriculum at your institution, the Integrated Competencies for Dietetic Education and Practice (ICDEP), and the professional development duties required by your regulating colleges or place of employment. You might notice that dietetics continues to primarily focus on biological and behavioural domains of health, with insufficient emphasis on the social domain.

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Part 2

Whether you are an undergraduate student, master’s or practicum student, practicing dietitian, educator, researcher or a dietetic or nutrition professional in a position of leadership, take some time to quickly review the 2020 ICDEP.

Do you currently have the skills or access to adequate training to identify, confront or address how ABR exists in each dietetic skill set under the seven practice competencies?
Identify 3 competencies where ABR can be addressed in your placement or workplace
Work with your classmate or colleagues to create a project for your placement, class project or workplace to enhance your skills in addressing ABR through those competencies.