Development and Implementation of Food Literacy Workshops in the Community

Not Applicable

Recruiting

• Conditions: Lifestyle Risk Reduction; Food Habits; Health Behavior
• Interventions: Behavioral: FL lay leader training and workshop implementation

• Registration Number: NCT03872752
• Lead Sponsor: Hadassah Medical Organization

Brief Summary

Nutritional factors are responsible for 10% of the global health burden. In Israel, 31% of Jewish women and 52% of Arab women are obese. It is predicted that this generation will see increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) and decreased life expectancy. Sustained lifestyle changes including small changes in nutrition behavior, can substantially reduce the risk of CVD.

Eating habits are affected by different abilities, circumstances, and skill sets, however, most nutrition programs focus on nutrition facts, and less on skills that can help translate knowledge to positive health behaviors and health outcomes. In the last decade a new field has emerged, Food literacy (FL), which acknowledges the importance of addressing skills such as nutrition knowledge, competencies, self-efficacy, literacy and health literacy, so as to enable positive change in nutrition behaviors. Food literacy, in summary, is the capability to make healthy food choices in different contexts, settings and situations.

The proposed program seeks to improve nutrition behaviors in disadvantaged communities via a train-the-trainers program, that will provide community leaders with the tools necessary to disseminate FL skills through the framework of existing community social-structures.

Detailed Description

Nutritional factors are responsible for 10% of the global health burden. In Israel, 31% of Jewish women and 52% of Arab women are obese. Diabetes rates are rising in accordance with the rise in obesity. Because of these factors, it is predicted that this generation will see increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) and decreased life expectancy. Sustained lifestyle changes including small changes in nutrition behavior, can substantially reduce the risk of CVD.

Eating habits are affected by different abilities, circumstances, and skill sets, however, most nutrition programs focus on nutrition facts, and less on skills that can help translate knowledge to positive health behaviors and health outcomes. In the last decade a new field has emerged, Food literacy (FL), which acknowledges the importance of addressing skills such as nutrition knowledge, competencies, self-efficacy, literacy and health literacy, so as to enable positive change in nutrition behaviors. FL, in summary, is the capability to make healthy food choices in different contexts, settings and situations.

The proposed program seeks to improve nutrition behaviors in disadvantaged communities via a train-the-trainers program, that will provide community leaders with the tools necessary to disseminate food literacy skills through the framework of existing community social-structures.

In stage I of the study, community lay leaders from pre-existing community frameworks of Hebrew speaking communities and Arab lay leaders from East Jerusalem will undergo training in a manualized program that enables lay leaders to effectively disseminate FL skills through engaging visual and game-based tools. In stage II the lay leaders will implement the program in their communities.

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2019-03-07
• Study First Submitted QC: 2019-03-12
• Study First Posted: 2019-03-13
• Study Start: 2019-05-15
• Status Verified: 2024-02
• Last Update Submitted: 2024-02-12
• Last Update Posted: 2024-02-14
• Primary Completion: 2026-07-01
• Study Completion: 2026-12-01

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: RECRUITING
• Sex: Female
• Target Recruitment: 150

Inclusion Criteria

• Women who are recognized leaders in the community will be included in training courses
• Participants for the Arab training program must speak and read Arabic
• Participants for the Hebrew-speaking training program must speak and read Hebrew

Exclusion Criteria

• women who do not meet leadership criteria will be considered for training

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: SINGLE_GROUP

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Lay leader training in FL intervention	FL lay leader training and workshop implementation	Community lay leaders from pre-existing community frameworks will undergo training in a manualized program that enables lay leaders to effectively disseminate food literacy skills through engaging visual and game-based tools in a food literacy workshop. Post training, lay leaders will implement the food literacy workshop in their communities.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Feasibility of lay-led workshops assessed by attendance rates	Throughout workshops, taking place throughout one year	Attendance is monitored to calculate proportion of attendance of participants.
Feasibility of lay-led workshops assessed by number of implemented workshops by lay-leaders	six months after last workshop session	Percentage of training course graduates who facilitated at least one workshop in the community within six months
Proportion of participants who accept lay-led workshops, assessed by feedback forms	Last session of each workshop (workshops take place throughout one year)	Workshop participants complete feedback forms self reporting on acceptability of duration and appropriateness of workshop content on a 1-5 Likert scale. Acceptability will include those who answered 4-5 on the Likert scale.
Compliance with research assessed by completed surveys	through study completion, an average of 1 year	Percentage of women who completed both baseline and post survey out of all participants
Proportion of participants satisfied with lay-led workshops, assessed by feedback forms	Last session of each workshop, (workshops take place throughout one year)	Workshop participants complete feedback forms self reporting on overall satisfaction, satisfaction of workshop methods and satisfaction with facilitator on a 1-5 Likert scale. Satisfaction will include those who answered 4-5 on the Likert scale.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in the level of food literacy	At baseline and three months after intervention	Level of food literacy will be assessed by using a food literacy self report scale based on Poelman's Self-Perceived Food Literacy (SPFL) questionnaire, including 23 questions, score ranging between 23-65, the higher the score the higher the food literacy level.
Change in lay leaders' Self Efficacy: self report questionnaire	At baseline and three months after intervention	Self Efficacy will be assessed through self report questionnaires (4 questions, 1-5 Likert scale), assessing participants self-efficacy in facilitating the food literacy material to target populations among trainers. The higher the average, the higher the self-efficacy.
Change in Mediterranean Diet adherence	At baseline and three months after intervention	Women complete a validated self report survey, the Israel-Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (I-MEDAS) reporting on their adherence to the Mediterranean Diet, including consumption of sweets, sweet beverages, fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and legumes. The scale ranges between 1-17, the higher the score the higher the adherence.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Hadassah Medical Organization, Jerusalem, Israel; 🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel