Date of Award:

8-2022

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Applied Sciences, Technology, and Education

Committee Chair(s)

Kelsey Hall

Committee

Kelsey Hall

Committee

Debra Spielmaker

Committee

Heidi Wengreen

Committee

Heidi LeBlanc

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of delivery method on the nutrition, food resource management (FRM), and physical activity behavior of participants enrolled in either Create Better Health’s in-person or online courses. The pre-survey and post-survey included data on nutrition, FRM, and physical activity behaviors. The researcher analyzed preexisting data from 138 SNAP-eligible adults who participated in Create Better Health’s online and in-person courses.

Results showed similar improvements in most of the nutrition and physical activity behaviors among those who took the CBH courses online or in-person. The online course showed statistically higher scores for four of the six FRM skills as well as drinking sweetened beverages.

Recommendations for continued research on the effects of the online and in-person Create Better Health courses is recommended. Similar sample sizes for the online and in-person course and data collected when not affected by a pandemic may show different results. The research recommends tailoring the modality to target populations based on needs, interests, and demographics. Technology is becoming more widely used among individuals with low income and research shows that web-based nutrition education can be just as effective or more effective than traditional direct education interventions among populations with low income.

The findings should encourage Extension and other programs that provide nutrition education for individuals with low income to utilize and continue the use of web-based programming using the CBH online course as a model. The USDA FNS’s policy, systems, and environmental framework, social cognitive theory, and social ecological model can serve as a guide for evaluating and creating programs that influence nutrition and physical activity change.

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