Determining the food irradiation beliefs of community nutrition educators: do beliefs influence educational outreach?
OBJECTIVE
To develop an instrument to measure the food irradiation beliefs of community nutrition educators and to determine the influence of those beliefs on food irradiation educational outreach.


METHODS
Survey development, cross-sectional telephone survey.


METHODS
Cooperative Extension Program.


METHODS
All Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) county extension agents serving in the most populated counties in Texas (n = 134, response rate = 99%). These participants may not be representative of all FCS extension agents.


METHODS
Food irradiation beliefs and educational outreach as well as selected demographic variables.


METHODS
To determine validity and reliability of the instrument, factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha were conducted, respectively. To determine if food irradiation beliefs influenced food irradiation educational outreach, logistic and multiple regression analyses were conducted, with significance set at P < .05.


RESULTS
The instrument had adequate reliability; two belief scales were identified through factor analysis, referred to as Safety Beliefs and Understanding Beliefs. Additionally, regression analysis suggested that educators' beliefs about food irradiation influenced the amount of food irradiation education they provided.


CONCLUSIONS
Results suggest that educators' beliefs about the safety and their understanding of food irradiation are predictors of the educational outreach they provide about it, indicating the potential value of professional development regarding food irradiation.
Thompson
Britta M
BM
Office of Curriculum, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030-3498, USA. brittat@bcm.tmc.edu
Knight
Stephanie L
SL
D003153:Community Health Services / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003625:Data Collection; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D005514:Food Irradiation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D052756:Nutritional Sciences / Q000193:education*; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013663:Teaching / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013781:Texas