Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior
Research ArticleDeveloping an Online Certification Program for Nutrition Education Assistants
Introduction
Paraprofessionals play an ever-increasing role in various occupational fields, including community health. They characteristically work for professional institutions in areas for which they have no formal training. Sufficient training and the development of expertise are essential to adequately preparing paraprofessionals to provide services. The organizations responsible for these paraprofessionals must establish training and intensive guidance that allows them to gain and maintain the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed for success.1, 2, 3
According to the Society of Nutrition Education, an endorsed credentialing program based on core competencies is essential for paraprofessional nutrition educators.4 However, to this point there has not been an endorsed credentialing program in place. The establishment of standards would define the required knowledge and skills needed for the nutrition educator's role. The Nutrition Education Assistant Certification Project was developed to address the need of expanding the nutrition education that nutrition education assistants (NEA) receive in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) and Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) programs in the State of Utah.
A Web-based program was used because it was believed to lessen the burden of NEA participation, as most of the educators are mothers with families who live long distances from the state offices that provide the training, making travel difficult for the participants and expensive for the programs. Web-based education is a growing field that provides an opportunity to overcome traditional access barriers.5 A Web-based program has the advantage of being available at any time and in any location as long as a computer and the Internet can be accessed. It also has the advantage of being standardized, as opposed to face-to-face training, which may be altered by the trainer or the time allotted for the training. The objective of this study was to examine the effectiveness of increasing knowledge and self-confidence of paraprofessionals in the Utah SNAP-Ed and EFNEP programs through an online certification program. It was hypothesized that the certification program would accomplish 3 goals: NEAs who participate in the certification program would have a significant increase in their knowledge of nutrition; NEAs who participate would have increased confidence in their ability to teach; and online training would provide significant cost savings to the programs as compared to traditional face-to-face training.
Section snippets
Subjects
The NEA Certification Program was developed for competency training of paraprofessionals employed by Utah State University (USU) in 2 programs, SNAP-Ed and EFNEP. Prior to beginning the study or data collection, the USU Institutional Review Board approved all procedures of the study. The study was conducted on a voluntary basis, and a letter of agreement was obtained from all NEAs before they began the study.
Procedures
A committee of 6 professionals who work for Utah SNAP-Ed and EFNEP collaborated on
Results
The certification program was implemented because program leaders believed that this method of teaching would not only save time and money, but also that it would ensure that quality information was delivered to the NEAs by university employees and provide increased NEA job satisfaction, resulting in job retention. All of the SNAP-Ed NEAs reported that they feel better prepared to function in their jobs as a result of completing the certification program (Figure 1). Nutrition education
Discussion
Organizations responsible for the education of paraprofessionals must establish training programs that provide support and intensive guidance allowing the paraprofessionals to gain and maintain the knowledge, skills, and confidence they need for success.1, 2, 3 In addition, the training must be cost efficient. E-learning has the capability of providing that education.
Traditional face-to-face learning programs require participants to be together in the same room learning the same material at the
Implications for Research and Practice
The SNAP-Ed and EFNEP programs identified a need to provide paraprofessional educators with a broader nutrition education base than what they were teaching to clients. Many NEAs expressed concern that they were unable to answer basic nutrition questions and were embarrassed at their lack of knowledge and skills. The Utah SNAP-Ed state office recognized that bringing all of the NEAs together to provide a traditional, extensive, face-to-face training program would be a real challenge, as most
Acknowledgments
Special thanks to the following: Kristen Strong, MS, RD for her help in writing the curriculum and coordinating, supporting, and encouraging EFNEP employees to complete the pilot project; Carrie Dabb for technical support and assistance in getting the online program up and running; all SNAP-Ed and EFNEP NEAs for participating in the research and providing valuable feedback; and the USU College of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Services and Nutrition, Dietetic, and Food Sciences department.
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