Description
Nutrition education research typically focuses on the program’s acceptance and usefulness with the target audience, but sustainable programs must be valued by the nutrition educator for its positive impact on their work. Everyone Needs Folic Acid is a colorful, simple nutrition education program delivered by digital photo frame platform or video intended to help low-income persons appreciate the role of folic acid for all age groups. Nutrition education research typically focuses on the program’s acceptance and usefulness with the target audience, but sustainable programs must be valued by the nutrition educator for its positive impact on their work. Everyone Needs Folic Acid is a colorful, simple nutrition education program delivered by digital photo frame platform or video intended to help low-income persons appreciate the role of folic acid for all age groups. Nutrition education research typically focuses on the program’s acceptance and usefulness with the target audience, but sustainable programs must be valued by the nutrition educator for its positive impact on their work. Everyone Needs Folic Acid is a colorful, simple nutrition education program delivered by digital photo frame platform or video intended to help low-income persons appreciate the role of folic acid for all age groups. OBJECTIVE: To describe Women Infant and Children (WIC) educator practices related to folic acid prior to impact assessment of Everyone Needs Folic Acid on WIC educator practices. Everyone Needs Folic Acid is a digital photo frame program developed considering tenets of the Consumer Information Processing Model, and demonstrated face/content validity in a 2-stage evaluation by low-income audiences. STUDY DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Face-to-Face (n=8) or telephone (n=13) interviews with nutrition educators (n=21) from WIC clinics serving Western (n=6) and Central (n=6) Pennsylvania were conducted. OUTCOME MEASURES AND ANALYSIS: Educator demographics, educator and client interest in folic acid-related topics and typical nutrition education practices were measured and reported as means with standard deviations (SD). RESULTS: Interviews lasted approximately 16 minutes. Most educators (n=20) self-identified as White. Highest educational level for 18 was Bachelor degree with professional credentials for 4 (registered dietitian, registered nurse, lactation consultant). Educators were experienced (average years in practice-17.4; SD=12.7) and stable (at current clinic 11.9 y; SD=10.3). Using a 5-point scale, educators reported strong interest in folic acid (mean=3.88, SD=0.93), and rated it highly important during pregnancy (mean=4.95, SD=0.22). Handouts and/or discussion were the sole method(s) of education reported. Only 43% received client-initiated folic acid questions/requests and they rated WIC participant interest as low (mean=2.88/5.00, SD=0.89). CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: WIC educators affirmed the need for nutrition education focused on folic acid, but findings suggest that novel delivery methods are needed to enhance client interest. Future steps will discern the impact of Everyone Needs Folic Acid on educator practices as a critical consideration for developing and delivering effective and sustainable programs.
Date of creation, presentation, or exhibit
6-30-2015
Document Type
Conference Paper
Department, Program, or Center
Nutrition Management (CHST)
Recommended Citation
Ruder, Elizabeth and Lohse, Barbara, "Pennsylvania WIC Educators Affirm Need for Folic Acid Education of Low-Income, SNAP-Ed Eligible Women" (2015). Accessed from
https://repository.rit.edu/other/823
Campus
RIT – Main Campus
Comments
Presented during the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior 2015 Annual Conference and published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.