PROMOTING HEALTHY HOME-COOKED FAMILY MEALS: EVALUATION OF A SOCIAL MARKETING PROGRAM TARGETING LOW-INCOME MOTHERS

• Main Author: Dawahare, Mollie Y.
• Format: Others
• Published: UKnowledge 2016
• Subjects: Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program; Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education; Cook-Together Eat Together; low-income mothers; Community Health and Preventive Medicine; Health and Physical Education; Human and Clinical Nutrition; Other Nutrition; Public Health Education and Promotion
• Online Access: http://uknowledge.uky.edu/foodsci_etds/43; http://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1041&context=foodsci_etds

Objective: Evaluate how a social marketing approach compares to traditional nutrition education curriculum for promoting behavioral changes related to eating and food. Design: Nonequivalent comparison group, entry-exit design. Participants from 12 Kentucky counties assigned either comparison or pilot group. Comparison group received traditional nutrition education curriculum and pilot group received the social marketing program, Cook Together, Eat Together (CTET) curriculum. EFNEP’s Behavior Checklist and 24-Hour Dietary Recall were administered at entry and exit of the 8-week programs. Participants: Females (18-72 years of age) from families eligible to receive SNAP benefits (n=64 comparison group participants, n=60 pilot group participants). Intervention: Comparison group completed an 8-week standard lesson and pilot group completed CTET program in varying time frames (1-8 weeks). Main Outcome Measures: Eating behavior changes between entry and exit for comparison versus pilot. Analysis: Quantitative data were analyzed using independent and paired t-tests with significance of P≤ 0.05 and 0.10. Results: Groups were demographically similar. Both had significant differences in entry and exit scores for Behavior Checklist and 24-Hour Recall (P≤ 0.05). Conclusion and Implications: Positive behavior change was observed in both comparison and pilot groups. A social marketing program proves to be a promising approach to nutrition education.