Nutrition Commons^™

Developing An Online Certification Program For Nutrition Education Assistants, D. Christofferson, N. Christensen, Heidi Leblanc, M. Bunch

Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Sciences Faculty Publications

Objective: To develop an online certification program for nutrition education paraprofessionals to increase knowledge and confidence and to overcome training barriers of programming time and travel expenses. Design: An online interactive certification course based on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education and Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program core competencies was delivered to employees of both programs. Traditional vs online training was compared. Course content validity was determined through expert review by registered dietitians. Parameters studied included increase of nutrition knowledge and teaching technique/ability, educator satisfaction, and programming costs related to training. Setting: Utah State University Extension. Participants: Twenty-two Supplemental Nutrition Assistance …