Food safety education: health professionals' knowledge and assessment of WIC client needs.
A written questionnaire was used to assess the opportunities and challenges for food safety education in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). The sample included directors and health professionals with nutrition counseling responsibilities in 79 WIC clinics in a midwestern state. Seventy-two percent of the clinics participated in the study. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, chi(2) analysis, and Cronbach's alpha. Seventy-two percent reported offering food safety advice to 20% or more of their clients daily. Ninety percent identified the food-safety knowledge of their WIC clients to be fair to very poor. The need for food safety handouts, targeted for WIC clients, was identified by 27% of the respondents. WIC professionals are promoting safe food handling among a high-risk population group. Expansion of current food-safety education efforts with WIC clients is encouraged with emphasis on methods to effectively overcome barriers to safe food handling.
Scheule
Barbara
B
School of Family and Consumer Sciences, Kent State University, 100 Nixson Hall, Kent, OH 44242-0001, USA. bscheule@kent.edu
D000328:Adult; D002662:Child Health Services; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003257:Consumer Product Safety / Q000592:standards*; D004045:Dietary Services; D005260:Female; D005516:Food Microbiology; D016266:Food Parasitology; D005522:Food Services / Q000592:standards; D005517:Foodborne Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006266:Health Education; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008427:Maternal Health Services; D008875:Middle Aged; D009747:Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States