Nutrition education program for nursing home staff.
A questionnaire was developed, tested, and revised to produce an instrument ot measure the effect of a nutrition education program on the staff of a nursing home in future studies. The results of the questionnaire were recorded for future comparisons with similar groups. The results of this study showed that there were positive changes in nutrition information for staff members receiving the program as well as changes in their attitudes about assuming responsibility for food choices of residents. The Job Satisfaction Index for the 33 subjects filling out the pre-test questionnaire showed a below normal score for work, pay, and co-workers and a normal response for supervision and promotion. The number of subjects was too small for statements of significance, but the possibility for change shown in this study seems to indicate that the method should be used in a larger population study. The lesson evaluations indicated that the material was well presented and well received. The staff responded very positively to the videotape, Meals: Then and Now, and to the opportunity to use role-playing to practice using information received in the nutrition education program to improve and support adequate dietary intake by residents. In this project we explored the possibility of using a nutrition education program for the staff of a nursing home, non-professional as well as professional, in order to create an awareness and a change in attitude concerning their role in the nutritional care of the elderly resident. At the end of the last nutrition education lesson, 78 percent of the staff members felt able to talk to residents about their attitudes toward meals served at the nursing home and to encourage residents to make good food choices.
D000368:Aged; D006801:Humans; D009735:Nursing Homes; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000193:education*; D052756:Nutritional Sciences / Q000193:education*; D009820:Ohio