Nutrition Information to the Desktop: A Pilot Online Nutrition Course on Saturated Fat for Public Librarians Increases Knowledge, Expectancies, and Self-efficacy
Abstract
Objective
To assess the effectiveness of an online course for public librarians on helping patrons reduce saturated fat.
Design
Pre- and posttest design along with a 6-month follow-up survey.
Setting
Online nutrition course.
Participants
100 (8 males, 92 females) completed the course, and 29 completed the follow-up survey.
Intervention
Completion of an online course.
Main Outcome Measures
Self-efficacy, expectancies, and knowledge were assessed at pre- and posttest. Self-efficacy, expectancies, and use of course content were assessed at 6-month follow-up.
Analysis
Paired-samples t tests.
Results
Knowledge increased significantly (P < .001). Self-efficacy significantly (P < .001) increased from the pre- to posttest, and this increase remained significant at the 6-month follow-up as compared to pretest (P < .001). Expectancies also increased significantly from pre- to posttest (P < .001) and remained high at 6 months, but they were not significantly different from baseline (P = .178). At 6-month follow-up, 39% of the participants had used the information from the course to find resources for a patron with a health-related question, and 82% had used the information from the course to help a friend or family member.
Conclusions and Implications
This small pilot study with librarians shows that an online course can be an effective way to increase self-efficacy about helping patrons with nutrition-related questions.
School of Public Health, Nutrition Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Address for correspondence: Gabrielle M. Turner-McGrievy, MS, RD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Public Health, 2217 McGavran-Greenberg, CB# 7461, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7461; Phone: (919) 260-1032; Fax: (919) 843-3639
The authors would like to thank the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg University Health Scholars program for financial support of this study. The authors would also like to thank the University of North Texas's Library Education at the Desktop for their assistance with course development and distribution.
ABSTRACT