TY - JOUR
T1 - Determining the Food Irradiation Beliefs of Community Nutrition Educators
T2 - Do Beliefs Influence Educational Outreach?
AU - Thompson, Britta M.
AU - Knight, Stephanie L.
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported primarily through a grant from the Institute of Food Science and Engineering, Texas A&M University, and in part through a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA-CSREES #51110-9766). The authors wish to thank Dr. Tom A. Vestal for securing funding and the Extension Education and Food and Nutrition units of Texas Cooperative Extension for the role they provided in this project. This study was conducted as part of Britta Thompson’s dissertation at Texas A&M University.
PY - 2006/1
Y1 - 2006/1
N2 - Objective: To develop an instrument to measure the food irradiation beliefs of community nutrition educators and to determine the influence of those beliefs on food irradiation educational outreach. Design: Survey development, cross-sectional telephone survey. Setting: Cooperative Extension Program. Participants: All Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) county extension agents serving in the most populated counties in Texas (n = 134, response rate = 99%). These participants may not be representative of all FCS extension agents. Variables Measured: Food irradiation beliefs and educational outreach as well as selected demographic variables. Analysis: To determine validity and reliability of the instrument, factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha were conducted, respectively. To determine if food irradiation beliefs influenced food irradiation educational outreach, logistic and multiple regression analyses were conducted, with significance set at P < .05. Results: The instrument had adequate reliability; two belief scales were identified through factor analysis, referred to as Safety Beliefs and Understanding Beliefs. Additionally, regression analysis suggested that educators' beliefs about food irradiation influenced the amount of food irradiation education they provided. Conclusions and Implications: Results suggest that educators' beliefs about the safety and their understanding of food irradiation are predictors of the educational outreach they provide about it, indicating the potential value of professional development regarding food irradiation.
AB - Objective: To develop an instrument to measure the food irradiation beliefs of community nutrition educators and to determine the influence of those beliefs on food irradiation educational outreach. Design: Survey development, cross-sectional telephone survey. Setting: Cooperative Extension Program. Participants: All Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) county extension agents serving in the most populated counties in Texas (n = 134, response rate = 99%). These participants may not be representative of all FCS extension agents. Variables Measured: Food irradiation beliefs and educational outreach as well as selected demographic variables. Analysis: To determine validity and reliability of the instrument, factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha were conducted, respectively. To determine if food irradiation beliefs influenced food irradiation educational outreach, logistic and multiple regression analyses were conducted, with significance set at P < .05. Results: The instrument had adequate reliability; two belief scales were identified through factor analysis, referred to as Safety Beliefs and Understanding Beliefs. Additionally, regression analysis suggested that educators' beliefs about food irradiation influenced the amount of food irradiation education they provided. Conclusions and Implications: Results suggest that educators' beliefs about the safety and their understanding of food irradiation are predictors of the educational outreach they provide about it, indicating the potential value of professional development regarding food irradiation.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jneb.2005.11.002
DO - 10.1016/j.jneb.2005.11.002
M3 - Article
C2 - 16595278
AN - SCOPUS:33646045072
VL - 38
SP - 50
EP - 55
JO - Journal of Nutrition Education
JF - Journal of Nutrition Education
SN - 1499-4046
IS - 1
ER -