Improving Food Safety Practices of Hispanic Families With Young Children Using Conceptual Change Teaching Strategies

Objective: To develop and conduct a culturally-appropriate educational program for Hispanic food preparers that addresses food safety knowledge and skills. Target Audience: Hispanic families with children 10 years and under. Theory, Prior Research, Rationale: Young children are at a higher risk of contracting foodborne illnesses. Many of these illnesses can be reduced with proper food handling. Our focus group and survey research (Health Belief Model) indicated a need for a culturally-appropriate food safety program for Hispanics developed for their learning style. The program was developed using the Conceptual Change Teaching Strategies. Description: Educational sessions in which participants discussed food safety topics, prepared two recipes, and shared a meal while discussing their application of food handling practices were conducted in Hispanic community centers. Evaluation: Participants completed pre/post surveys to assess knowledge change as a result of the program. A health belief survey using a Likert scale (11⁄4Strongly Agree, 51⁄4Strongly Disagree) was also conducted. Participants (n1⁄445) were female (92 %) with an average of 2.8 children. A 39.6% (p1⁄40.0001) increase in knowledge was found from the pre-post surveys. Participants did not feel that food poisoning was a problem for them (3.09) or their children (3.36). Participants did agree that their home food handling practices prevent their children from getting food poisoning (1.45). Conclusions and Implications: Participant-centered and collaborative food safety programs can improve participants' knowledge and skills. Understanding the effectiveness of the Conceptual Change Teaching Strategies for food safety education will assist researchers and educators in the development and delivery of health-related interventions. Funding: USDA Additional Funding: USDA Project 2010-01299