Evaluation of a nutrition education program for cancer risk reduction in women

The purpose of the research was to evaluate the effectiveness of affective versus traditional nutrition education techniques in improving knowledge, attitudes and behavior. The 44 voluntary subjects participated in one of three courses: (a) experimental (three attitude-oriented sessions), (b) standard (one 1-hour lecture), or (c) control (no education). Sixteen subjects comprised the experimental group; 13 subjects, the standard group; and 15 subjects, the control group. All subjects were pre- and posttested using an objective knowledge test, two validated attitude scales, and 3-day dietary records. The data were analyzed using SPSSx, including t-tests and MANOVA to test the null hypotheses at the .05 level of significance. There were significant improvements from pre- and posttest in knowledge and attitudes within the experimental and standard groups, and in kcalorie intake within the experimental group. Only in knowledge did the experimental and standard participants improve significantly more than the control participants.