Development of a Curriculum to Lower Dietary Fat Intake in a Multiethnic Population with Low Literacy Skills

Abstract

Low-literate, low-income populations face unique issues as they attempt to modify their diet to lower risk of chronic disease. The goal of the Stanford Nutrition Action Program (SNAP) was to design a curriculum that would address such issues and stimulate reduction of dietary fat. Initial focus groups and pilot tests were conducted to assess nutrition knowledge, interests, and dietary habits of a multiethnic, low-literate population. These investigations revealed that a nutrition education curriculum tailored to a population with low literacy skills would need to address the taste, cost, and convenience of low-fat foods, and teach participants how to incorporate low-fat foods and cooking methods into their family's diet with minimal disruption. These findings, combined with published data on food intake and preferences, were used to design the SNAP curriculum. The SNAP classroom curriculum operationalized principles of adult education, constructs from social learning theory, and followed established national guidelines on how to develop appropriate print materials for low-literate adults. Each of its six lessons included role modeling, goal setting, problem solving, group activities, and skills building tasks; many included SNAP videotapes, food demonstrations, and posters that enhanced group discussions. Print materials were written at or below the 5th grade reading level. The SNAP curriculum combined interactive teaching techniques and behavior change methods to successfully teach and stimulate the interest of low-literate, low-income population to overcome barriers to reducing fat.