Evaluation of a nutrition education module as a component of the career orientation of foreign missionaries

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a nutrition education module, emphasizing both cognitive and affective concepts, on the nutrition knowledge, flexibility of attitude toward nutrition and attitude about nutrition education of missionaries during their orientation period. The experimental (n = 22) and control (n = 19) groups completed pre- and post-test questionnaires that were developed for this study. Missionaries in the experimental group demonstrated significant increases in both nutrition knowledge and more positive attitudes about nutrition education after participation in the module. The control group, however, had no significant increase in knowledge at post-testing and, in general, had significantly more negative attitudes about nutrition education. No significant changes in flexibility were detected for the control group and only for one statement in the experimental group. Significant positive correlations resulted at post-testing between nutrition knowledge and attitude, as well as knowledge and flexibility for the experimental group and between flexibility and attitude for both the experimental and control groups. Results from this study suggest that a change in nutrition knowledge precedes a change in attitude in the knowledge-attitude-behavior pathway as revealed by an analysis of covariance. This sequence supports the principles of adult learning and the theory of holistic education upon which the program of missionary orientation is based.