Pulse-Based Nutrition Education Intervention Among High School Students to Enhance Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices: Pilot for a Formative Survey Study
BackgroundPromoting pulse consumption in schools could improve students’ healthy food choices. Pulses, described as legumes, are rich in protein and micronutrients and are an important food choice for health and well-being. However, most Canadians consume very little pulse-ba...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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JMIR Publications
2023-05-01
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| Series: | JMIR Formative Research |
| Online Access: | https://formative.jmir.org/2023/1/e45908 |
| _version_ | 1827857287367098368 |
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| author | Getenesh Berhanu Teshome Hiwot Abebe Haileslassie Phyllis Shand Yun Lin Jessica R L Lieffers Carol Henry |
| author_facet | Getenesh Berhanu Teshome Hiwot Abebe Haileslassie Phyllis Shand Yun Lin Jessica R L Lieffers Carol Henry |
| author_sort | Getenesh Berhanu Teshome |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
BackgroundPromoting pulse consumption in schools could improve students’ healthy food choices. Pulses, described as legumes, are rich in protein and micronutrients and are an important food choice for health and well-being. However, most Canadians consume very little pulse-based food.
ObjectiveThis pilot study sought to investigate outcomes of a teacher-led, school-based food literacy intervention focused on the Pulses Make Perfect Sense (PMPS) program in 2 high schools in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
MethodsBoth high schools were selected using a convenience sampling technique and have similar sociodemographic characteristics. The mean age of students was 16 years. The intervention comprised 7 key themes focused on pulses, which included defining pulses; health and nutritional benefits of pulses; incorporating pulses into meals; the role of pulses in reducing environmental stressors, food insecurity, and malnutrition; product development; taste testing and sensory analysis; and pulses around the world. A self-administered questionnaire was used to assess knowledge, attitudes, practices, and barriers regarding pulse consumption in students at baseline and study end. Teachers were interviewed at the end of the intervention. Descriptive statistics and the nonparametric Mann-Whitney U test were used for analysis.
ResultsIn total, 41 and 32 students participated in the baseline and study-end assessments, respectively. At baseline, the median knowledge score was 9, attitude score was 6, and barrier score was 0. At study end, the median knowledge score was 10, attitude score was 7, and barrier score was 1. A lower score for barriers indicated fewer barriers to pulse consumption. There was a significant difference between baseline and study-end scores in knowledge (P<.05). Barriers to pulse consumption included parents not cooking or consuming pulses at home, participants not liking the taste of pulses, and participants often preferring other food choices over pulses. The teachers indicated that the pulse food-literacy teaching resources were informative, locally available, and easy to use.
ConclusionsDespite the improvements in knowledge, attitude, and practice, pulse consumption did not change significantly at the end of the intervention. Future studies with larger samples are needed to determine the impact of PMPS on knowledge, attitude, and practice of high school students. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T12:38:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5add42c0fa5d487fb8ad03997a21b6d4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2561-326X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T12:38:19Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | JMIR Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | JMIR Formative Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-5add42c0fa5d487fb8ad03997a21b6d42023-08-28T23:59:47ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Formative Research2561-326X2023-05-017e4590810.2196/45908Pulse-Based Nutrition Education Intervention Among High School Students to Enhance Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices: Pilot for a Formative Survey StudyGetenesh Berhanu Teshomehttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-9938-3993Hiwot Abebe Haileslassiehttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-1975-1811Phyllis Shandhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-2985-5670Yun Linhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-7680-2195Jessica R L Lieffershttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-4380-1011Carol Henryhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-5982-2936 BackgroundPromoting pulse consumption in schools could improve students’ healthy food choices. Pulses, described as legumes, are rich in protein and micronutrients and are an important food choice for health and well-being. However, most Canadians consume very little pulse-based food. ObjectiveThis pilot study sought to investigate outcomes of a teacher-led, school-based food literacy intervention focused on the Pulses Make Perfect Sense (PMPS) program in 2 high schools in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. MethodsBoth high schools were selected using a convenience sampling technique and have similar sociodemographic characteristics. The mean age of students was 16 years. The intervention comprised 7 key themes focused on pulses, which included defining pulses; health and nutritional benefits of pulses; incorporating pulses into meals; the role of pulses in reducing environmental stressors, food insecurity, and malnutrition; product development; taste testing and sensory analysis; and pulses around the world. A self-administered questionnaire was used to assess knowledge, attitudes, practices, and barriers regarding pulse consumption in students at baseline and study end. Teachers were interviewed at the end of the intervention. Descriptive statistics and the nonparametric Mann-Whitney U test were used for analysis. ResultsIn total, 41 and 32 students participated in the baseline and study-end assessments, respectively. At baseline, the median knowledge score was 9, attitude score was 6, and barrier score was 0. At study end, the median knowledge score was 10, attitude score was 7, and barrier score was 1. A lower score for barriers indicated fewer barriers to pulse consumption. There was a significant difference between baseline and study-end scores in knowledge (P<.05). Barriers to pulse consumption included parents not cooking or consuming pulses at home, participants not liking the taste of pulses, and participants often preferring other food choices over pulses. The teachers indicated that the pulse food-literacy teaching resources were informative, locally available, and easy to use. ConclusionsDespite the improvements in knowledge, attitude, and practice, pulse consumption did not change significantly at the end of the intervention. Future studies with larger samples are needed to determine the impact of PMPS on knowledge, attitude, and practice of high school students.https://formative.jmir.org/2023/1/e45908 |
| spellingShingle | Getenesh Berhanu Teshome Hiwot Abebe Haileslassie Phyllis Shand Yun Lin Jessica R L Lieffers Carol Henry Pulse-Based Nutrition Education Intervention Among High School Students to Enhance Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices: Pilot for a Formative Survey Study JMIR Formative Research |
| title | Pulse-Based Nutrition Education Intervention Among High School Students to Enhance Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices: Pilot for a Formative Survey Study |
| title_full | Pulse-Based Nutrition Education Intervention Among High School Students to Enhance Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices: Pilot for a Formative Survey Study |
| title_fullStr | Pulse-Based Nutrition Education Intervention Among High School Students to Enhance Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices: Pilot for a Formative Survey Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Pulse-Based Nutrition Education Intervention Among High School Students to Enhance Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices: Pilot for a Formative Survey Study |
| title_short | Pulse-Based Nutrition Education Intervention Among High School Students to Enhance Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices: Pilot for a Formative Survey Study |
| title_sort | pulse based nutrition education intervention among high school students to enhance knowledge attitudes and practices pilot for a formative survey study |
| url | https://formative.jmir.org/2023/1/e45908 |
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