A Short, Evidence-Based Educational Pilot Program Improved Veterinary Medicine Students’ Self-Reported Food Literacy and Behaviors Toward Food

Abstract

Abstract Objectives This pilot study developed and tested the impact of participating in a short, evidence-based nutrition education/culinary skill-building program on veterinary medicine students’ self-reported food literacy and behaviors toward food. Methods The curriculum was developed and formatively tested with young adult graduate students and then pilot tested with veterinary medicine students. The intervention emphasized the five factors reported by the Eating and Food Literacy Questionnaire (EFLBQ) of health and nutrition, taste, food preparation skills, planning and decision-making, and convenience. The intervention included four, 30-minute sessions and the use of a mobile group messaging application. Graduate students enrolled in a money management course served as a control group. Wilcoxon Signed Ranks tests analyzed mean factor change in EFLBQ scores in each group, and Mann-Whitney U tests compared change in scores between groups. Relationships between variables were examined using Spearman's rho. Results Twenty-three veterinary medicine students completed the intervention and 14 graduate students finished the money management course. Most students were female (87%; n = 20 & 79%; n = 11 in the intervention and control groups respectively). The mean age of students was 24.2 ± 2.6 years in the intervention group and, 27.1 ± 2.3 years in the control group. After participating in the intervention, the veterinary medicine students’ mean factor scores for health and nutrition (pre-Mdn = 2.9 to post-Mdn = 2.9, Z = −2.88, P = 0.004, r = −0.60) and food preparation (pre-Mdn = 2.7 to post-Mdn = 3.0, Z = −2.73, P = 0.006, r = −0.57) significantly increased. When compared to the control group, the intervention group's health and nutrition mean factor score was significantly higher (P = 0.03). Change in health and nutrition scores were positively associated with planning and decision-making scores (P < 0.001). Scores for planning and decision-making were also positively related to food preparation scores (P < 0.01). Conclusions Participating in a nutrition education/culinary skill-building program supported veterinary medicine students’ nutritional well-being by improving their self-reported behaviors toward food and nutrition. Funding Sources This project was partially funded by Hatch Project #LAB94331.