Meal Time/Family Time: An Evaluation of a Nutrition Education Program Sondra M. Parmer, MS Alabama Cooperative Extension System Auburn University

Purpose of Study n To provide a profile of family eating characteristics currently lacking in the literature of a limited-resource population. n To evaluate knowledge and behavior change of individuals participating in Meal Time/Family Time, a nutrition education program focused on creating and implementing the shared family meal.

Why is family meal time important? n nutrition –more balanced meals –better eating habits n family well-being –vocabulary building/communication –family cohesiveness

Method n Sample n Curriculum n Instrument Development n Data Collection n Data Analysis

Sample

Curriculum n Meal Time/Family Time - Experimental –understanding value of family meal time –creating the shared family meal n Managing Your Food Dollar - Control –understanding money management skills related to food buying –developing skills for maximizing food dollars

Instrument Development n Pre- and post-assessment n Based on curriculum content n 2nd grade reading level n 30 Likert-scale items –10 knowledge items = knowledge scale –20 behavior items = behavior scale

Instrument Validity and Reliability n Content validity n Reliability - Pilot Test –.60 Cronbach alpha for knowledge scale –.79 Cronbach alpha for behavior scale n Reliability - Study –.67 Cronbach alpha for knowledge scale –.81 Cronbach alpha for behavior scale

Data Collection n Pre- and post-assessments n Administered by Program Assistants n Assessments read out loud

Data Analysis n Frequency tables n Pearson chi-square n Repeated-measures ANOVA n Paired-samples t-test

Demographic Characteristics n Mean age years n African-American - 67% n Rural - 67% n Education –41% not completed high school –50% graduated from high school –9% attended schooling beyond high school

Characteristics of Family Meal Time Behavior

Occurrence of Family Meals

Problem Areas n 55% of respondents watched TV always or often during family meal times, an additional 28% watched TV sometimes during family meal times n 48% of respondents were using meal time to solve problems n 69% of respondents reported making their children eat as a way to have a healthy diet

Children’s Involvement n 75% of respondent’s children were washing hands n HOWEVER, children were not involved in family meal events such as: –menu planning –food shopping –food preparation –dish washing

Knowledge and Behavior Change of Individuals Participating in Meal Time/Family Time

Pre- and Post-Assessment Scores n Behavior Scale n Knowledge Scale

Behavior Scale n One-way within-subjects ANOVA –independent variable = time of assessments –dependent variable = pre- and post- assessment scores on behavior scale n Significant main effect for time

Behavior Scale: Post-Hoc Tests n No significant difference found between experimental and control groups at pre-assessment - groups are considered homogeneous at pre- assessment n Significant difference found between experimental and control groups at post-assessment

Behavior Scale: Additional Follow-Up Test n Significant difference found for the experimental group with means increasing over time n No significant difference found for the control group

Consistent with expectations, participants in the educational program, Meal Time/Family Time, positively changed their family meal behavior practices as compared to participants in the educational program, Managing Your Food Dollar.

Knowledge Scale n One-way within-subjects ANOVA –independent variable = time of assessments –dependent variable = pre- and post- assessment scores on knowledge scale n Significant main effect for time

Knowledge Scale: Post-Hoc Tests n No significant difference found between experimental and control groups at pre-assessment - groups are considered homogeneous at pre- assessment n No significant difference found between experimental and control groups at post-assessment

Knowledge Scale: Additional Follow-Up Tests n Significant difference found for the experimental group with means increasing over time n Significant difference found for the control group with means increasing over time

These findings for the knowledge scale were not consistent with expectations, however they were not entirely surprising. It was discovered that one of the ten items on the assessment was also included in the curriculum taught to the control group.

Summary n 2 objectives were met –Descriptive information was collected for a limited-resource population concerning family meal time behavior and knowledge –Meal Time/Family Time was found to be an effective educational program on the behavior dimension due to change found in experimental sample as compared to control group