ABSTRACT
This study was carried out to investigate the status of the utilization of internet and dietary information by elementary school dietitians (total=201) The results were summarized as follows: All subjects used the internet regularly and the major purpose they mentioned for using it was "data search" (72.3%). Those having a frequency of using the internet 6 to 7 times per week were 46.7% of the subjects and the majority indicated the duration of their use of the internet was "<2 hours" (68.5%). They mainly used the internet at "school" (81.8%), and their favorite search engines were "Daum" (41.1%) and "Yahoo" (34.7%). They stated that the organization that offered reliable internet information were those "related to society and organizations" (36.9%) and "educational institutions" (33.8%). Ninety-five percent of the subjects searched for dietary information mainly "for public affairs" (80.0%) Their degree of satisfaction when searching for information was high (78.7%). Those dissatisfied with internet sites when searching for dietary information give the following reasons: "poor information" (39.1%) and "slow updates" (25.4%). They acquired information on nutrition and health management mainly through "the internet" (63.6%) The most frequently requested information about public affairs was on "Materials for nutritional education" (38.6%) and "up-to-date nutritional information" (16.0%) . The desirable update periods for websites was "1-3 months" (51.8%) and "<1 month" (30.6%), and the favorite site colors were "blue" (37.8%) and "green" (37.8%). The results of this study showed that, although the internet usage was high, the dietitians were dissatisfied with the information obtained. Therefore, the information donors should find out what kind of dietary information is needed by elementary school dietitians.
Subject(s)
Humans , Internet , Nutritionists , Search Engine , Tissue DonorsABSTRACT
This study was carried out to investigate the nutritional education status and the recognition of the importance of elementary school dietitians (N=183) in the Gyeongnam area. The results are summarized as follows. All subjects took part in nutritional education program, but the educational methods were passive, as in the case of "home correspondence" (80.8%) and "bulletin board poster" (16.4%), and the education frequency was very low as in "one time/month" (90.2%). The subjects thought "as an independent subject" (41.5%) and "as a related subjects" (35.1%) were suitable teaching venues for the nutritional education. They were very low in individual counseling (4.5%) for school children because of "lack of opportunity" (42.2%) and "heavy work load" (24.1%). However, most of the subjects wished that nutritional counseling could offered in the future (95.5%). The parents' experience of nutritional education was also low (34.3%). Information sources for nutritional education were mainly the "internet" (53.1%) and "re-educational materials" (25.0%). The available instructional materials included "printed materials" (96.7%), "exhibition bulletin materials" (70.3%) and "electronic materials" (46.4%). The preferred education materials were "exhibition bulletin materials" (32.2%), "printed materials" (29.2%), and "electronic materiaThis study was carried ls" (27.7%). However, materials they wished to purchase were "electronic materials" (54.5%) and "cubic materials" (26.0%). These results show a difference between the preferred materials and the possessed materials. Most school dietitians (98.4%) recognized the necessity of nutritional education with respect to "good table manners" (42.0%), "correction of food prejudices" (30.3%), and "proper nutrition for growth" (21.0%). Although they had a great interest in nutritional education, they had difficulty in cutting their learning into practice because of "heavy work load" (30.9%), "lack of a systematic curriculum" (25.2%), and "lack of a educational opportunity" (22.8%). Ninety five percent of subjects wished to have nutrition education taught as an independent subject. They pointed out "kindergarten" (60.0%) and "lower grades in elementary school" (33.9%) as the optimal starting times for nutritional education and "school dietitians" (91.3%) as suitable teachers for these programs. The required topics chosen by the subjects for nutritional education for children were "proper eating habits" (54.2%) and "nutritional problem" (31.5%). The dietitians thought "food prejudices" (44.7%), "eat too much processed and instant foods" (36.5%), and "obesity" (11.8%) were the most common nutritional problems among elementary school children. These results suggest the necessity of solving the nutritional problems in children by developing a nutritional education program. Along with this program, if dietitian assisted programs for parents were developed, the effects of nutritional education could definitely be increased.