A Service Learning Program in Providing Nutrition Education to Children

Abstract

Objective. To implement a service learning program in nutrition and assess its impact on pharmacy students' communication skills and professionalism and elementary school children's knowledge of nutrition concepts. Design. First-year pharmacy students completed 4 nutrition education sessions led by a registered dietitian and then presented the material to pre-selected classes of at-risk elementary school children in kindergarten through third grade. Assessment. Ninety-six pharmacy students completed the pre-and post-experience survey and more than 90% rated achievement of course objectives as strongly agree or agree. Four hundred sixty-eight elementary students completed a pre-and posttest on nutrition knowledge. Significant improvement was found in all grade levels on the knowledge test. Conclusion. This service learning experience was beneficial for the elementary school children and pharmacy students, enhancing the knowledge of both groups and establishing a positive relationship between the pharmacy school and the community.

Effect of Food Service Nutrition Improvements on Elementary School Cafeteria Lunch Purchase Patterns

“…We Can! food categories have been used to classify food for studies on food advertising to children and nutrition education interventions …”

“…food categories have been used to classify food for studies on food advertising to children 20 and nutrition education interventions. [21][22][23][24][25] ''Go'' foods are low in calories, saturated fat, and dietary cholesterol and are high in nutrition. Children are encouraged to eat as many of these healthy foods as possible in their daily diet.…”

Implementing an Education Program in Elementary Schools to Improve Healthy Food Choices

“…Food and beverage marketing target children under the age of 12 [7]. An average of about $10 billion is spent to market products to children, with four of the top ten items being available without parent permission [7].…”

Impact of a Service-Learning Course on First-Year Pharmacy Students' Learning Outcomes

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] Many of these studies investigated learning outcomes using assessment methods such as pre-and post-course testing or post-course open-ended questions and responses. These studies, however, did not address whether the service-learning courses led to learning outcomes different from those that can be achieved by students taking similar courses that do not involve service learning.…”