Food Safety Education Using an Interactive Multimedia Kiosk in a WIC Setting: Correlates of Client Satisfaction and Practical Issues

Abstract 

Objective

To assess acceptability of food safety education delivered by interactive multimedia (IMM) in a Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children Program (WIC) clinic.

Methods

Female clients or caregivers (n=176) completed the food-handling survey; then an IMM food safety education program on a computer kiosk. Satisfaction with program, participant demographics, and change in food-handling behavior were assessed by univariate analyses.

Results

Over 90% of the participants enjoyed the kiosk, and most (87.5%) reported using computers a lot. Compared with participants with education beyond high school, participants with less education were more likely to report enjoying the kiosk (98.2% vs 88.1%, P = .007), preferred learning with the kiosk (91.7% vs 79.1%, P = .02), and would like to learn about other topics using IMM (95.4% vs 86.6%, P = .04).

Conclusions and Implications

Food safety education delivered by IMM was well accepted by inner-city WIC clinic clients, including those with less education.

Key Words: food safety education, foodborne illness prevention, maternal child health, computer-assisted instruction, health education