The knowledge outcome of students majoring in physical and health education during the COVID-19 pandemic

The objective of this study was to identify the knowledge outcome of students majoring in physical and health education at Al-Balqa Applied University studying the principles of sports training, nutrition for athletes, and sports anatomy during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study adopted the descriptive analytical approach, where the curricula for the principles of sports training, the nutrition curriculum for athletes, and the sports anatomy curriculum were chosen, which were taught during the second semester of the academic year 2020/2021. In order to determine the degree of the knowledge outcome of the students, the study adopted the purposive sampling method in selecting the study sample. The students of physical and health education specialization at Al-Balqa Applied University were identified, where the sample consisted of 135 male and female students. The study concluded that the ratio of the total knowledge outcome to the knowledge outcome was at a moderate level with a percentage of 61.1, while it was low in the sports Anatomy curriculum 58.8. The results showed that there were statistically significant differences in favor of the students of Princess Alia College, and the results showed that there were no statistically significant differences between males and females in the nutrition and sports anatomy domain, while there were statistically significant differences in favor of males in the principles of sports training domain. This study increased the depth of understanding of knowledge outcome during the COVID-19 pandemic, whereas other studies were performed in normal non-stressful situations.

Adapting Nutrition Programming for Intergenerational Implementation

Practitioners frequently tailor programming to meet participant characteristics and logistic constraints, or to incorporate diverse participants, such as intergenerational programming. Adapted programming may be responsive but reduce impact on outcomes. With growing interest in and limited availability of intergenerational protocol, implementation science guides program tailoring to ensure that youth and older adults mutually benefit from adapted programming. We integrated guidelines for tailoring interventions (Framework for Reporting Adaptations and Modifications-Expanded: FRAME) and evidence-based intergenerational practice. We illustrate how program fidelity can be supported in intergenerational settings using examples from an adapted USDA-approved preschool nutrition curriculum delivered intergenerationally. Program acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility were rated favorably by program stakeholders, and observational implementation data suggest fidelity can be maintained using evidence-based intergenerational strategies. Our findings support the potential for protocol developed for one age group to benefit youth and older adults when it is adapted using implementation and intergenerational guidelines.

Impact of an Expansion of a Clinical Nutrition Curriculum on Pre-Clerkship Medical Students’ Perception of Their Knowledge and Skills Related to Performing a Nutritional Assessment

Learning how to provide nutritional counseling to patients should start early in undergraduate medical education to improve the knowledge, comfort, and confidence of physicians. Two nutrition workshops were developed for first-year medical students. The first workshop, co-led by physicians and registered dieticians, focused on obtaining nutrition assessments. The second workshop focused on the appropriate dietary counseling of patients with chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular risk. We surveyed students before workshop 1, after workshop 1, and after workshop 2 to assess their perceptions of the value of physician nutrition knowledge and counseling skills as well as their own comfort in the area of nutritional knowledge, assessment, and counseling. We found a significant improvement in their self-assessed level of knowledge regarding counseling patients, in their comfort in completing a nutritional assessment, and in their confidence in advising a patient about nutrition by the end of the first workshop. By the time of the second workshop five months later, students continued to report a high level of knowledge, comfort, and confidence. The implementation of clinical nutrition workshops with a focus on assessment, management, and counseling was found to be effective in increasing student’s self-assessed level of knowledge as well as their confidence and comfort in advising patients on nutrition. Our findings further support the previous assertion that clinical nutrition education can be successfully integrated into the pre-clerkship medical school curriculum.

Assessing the Impact of a Pilot Nutrition Curriculum on Students’ Confidence and Ability to Perform Nutritional Assessments on Overweight Dogs and Cats for Use in a Veterinary Outreach Program

Obesity is a growing concern for dogs and cats. Although veterinary input is critical to prevent and manage obesity, conversations addressing overweight pets are challenging and require training to perform effectively. This study assessed the impact of a nutrition curriculum developed for use in a veterinary outreach program on student confidence and ability to perform nutritional assessments, particularly on overweight pets. The curriculum was developed by students and a Board-Certified Veterinary Nutritionist focusing on (1) performing nutritional assessments, and (2) discussing the findings with owners. Initial implementation and evaluation occurred with 32 students. Pre-study and post-study surveys were conducted asking students to rank their confidence in 14 aspects related to nutritional assessments, determine opportunities for change from a case summary, and describe their experience using the materials. Five students in the outreach program performed an additional nutritional assessment and developed a plan for a hypothetical case. Results were analyzed for significance via the likelihood ratios Chi-square and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. Students showed significant increase in confidence for 11 of the 14 questions and significant improvements at determining opportunities for change ( p <.05). Feedback was positive and supported the feasibility of using the materials with the outreach program. Overall, the findings support that the curriculum provides a positive learning experience and prepared veterinary students for performing nutritional assessments and creating management plans for obese pets. This article introduces the curriculum as a successful model for providing access to additional self-paced curricular units to veterinary students.

The Lunch Conference Diet: Fostering Resident Engagement in Culinary Medicine Through a Curriculum Centered on Changes to Provided Conference Food

Background. Despite the burden of chronic disease attributable to lifestyle, most internal medicine residents do not receive adequate training in nutrition and nutrition counseling. Methods. We held a culinary medicine workshop in September 2018, followed by didactic sessions throughout the academic year. Changes were made to lunch conference food to more closely follow the Mediterranean diet and to encourage healthy eating. With a modified NUTCOMP (Nutrition Competence Questionnaire) instrument, we assesses residents’ perceived competence with nutrition counseling before and after the curriculum. Results. Twenty-six of 30 residents completed the pre-curriculum and post-curriculum surveys (not the same 26). The mean NUTCOMP score increased from 3.5 to 4.0 ( P < .0001), indicating an increased perceived competence with nutritional counseling. Residents felt that nutritional counseling was important before and after the curriculum (4.2 to 4.3, P = .48). Conference food was more nutritious at the end of the intervention (Mediterranean diet score range 1-4 to 4-7) and residents enjoyed the food more. Conclusions. An innovative, multimodal nutrition curriculum centered on changes to catered lunch conference food improved resident’s confidence with nutritional counseling. This could feasibly be integrated into other residency programs with supportive leadership and adequate training.

Medical Students Pilot Nutrition and Cooking Program for Children in Underserved Communities

Background: To describe the development and implementation of a pilot pediatric nutrition curriculum created by medical students for underserved communities. Methods: Medical students designed an interactive cooking and nutrition curriculum for children to address local community needs. Children participated in the four-module pilot program offered over the summer. Participants completed pretest and posttest surveys before and after the four-week curriculum. A post curriculum implementation survey was filled out by parents to assess long-term effectiveness of the program. Results: The course was divided into four themed nutrition classes that represented major staples of the diet. Within each themed class existed supporting objectives involving kitchen safety, serving sizes, nutrition labels, etc. The pretest group (n=44) scored an average of 59% (n= 3.55/6) on six nutrition knowledge questions. The posttest group (n=21) scored an average of 68% (n = 4.1/6). Post implementation survey response rate was 16% (n = 7/44) with 100% (n = 7/7) of respondents reporting that they would definitely recommend the program. Using a ranking scale (1–5), parents strongly agreed (4.6–5.0) that their children exhibited more confidence in the kitchen (5.0), developed more interest in preparing meals and snacks (4.7), demonstrated greater awareness of kitchen safety (4.7) and displayed more knowledge about nutrition (4.6) after participating in the nutrition program. Conclusion: After piloting the program for two seasons, surveys identified baseline participant characteristics, nutrition knowledge, expected retention rates and longitudinal behavior changes. Further optimization of surveys is needed to better assess the efficacy of the program.