TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28
POSTER SESSION: WELLNESS AND PUBLIC HEALTH
Title: TEACHING NEW MOTHERS ABOUT INFANT
FEEDING CUES INCREASES BREASTFEEDING DURATION
Author(s): J. Kandiah, C. Burian, V. Amend; Family and
Consumer Sciences, Ball State University, Muncie, IN
Learning Outcome: Participants will learn and adopt a new
strategy to improve duration of breastfeeding in low income
prenatal women.
Text: Objective: To improve duration of breastfeeding,
innovative strategies are needed. The purpose of this study was
to compare if teaching low income prenatal women about infant
feeding cues would be more effective than the standard method
of explaining the benefits of breastfeeding. Methods: Over a
duration of 24 months, 197 prenatal women who qualified for the
federal Women Infants and Children Special Supplemental
Feeding Program (WIC) were randomly assigned to a control (C,
n 139) or an experimental (E, n 51) group. The C group was
given the WIC standard education (i.e. 2 brochures on the
benefits of breastfeeding) by 2 nutritionists. The E group was
given information about hunger cues that an infant exhibits by a
lactation consultant. The Cox Regression and Kaplan-Meier
analysis were performed to predict a trend for participants who
breastfed for 1 year when they were non-eligible for WIC.
Results: Estimated mean number of weeks for the C and E
groups to continue breastfeeding behaviors was 14.317.4 and
18.517.1 respectively. When compared to the C group, at 26
weeks duration of breastfeeding in the E group approached
significance (chi square2.907, df1, p0.088), indicating
probability of continuing to breastfeed was about 28% better for
those in the E group. Data for 52 weeks indicated no significant
difference between the groups (chi square 1.548, df 1,
p0.123). Conclusion: These findings suggest that duration of
breastfeeding may be increased when prenatal women are taught
to identify infant feeding behaviors such as hunger cues.
Funding Disclosure: None
Title: TEXAS DIETETIC STUDENTS KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDES
TOWARD BREASTFEEDING
Author(s): C. Tiernan, J. Kwon, M. Rew; Nutrition and Food Sciences,
Texas Womans University, Denton, TX
Learning Outcome: To identify dietetic students knowledge and
attitudes toward breastfeeding in Didactic Programs in Dietetics (DPD)
and Dietetic Internship (DI) programs in Texas and to identify needs for
breastfeeding education in dietetic programs.
Text: Breastfeeding provides optimum nutrition for infants and health
benefits to mothers. Registered dietitians (RDs) are in a position to influence
breastfeeding practices, but research regarding current and future dietitians
breastfeeding knowledge and attitudes is limited. To determine future
dietitians knowledge and attitudes toward breastfeeding, an online survey of
students in Texas Didactic Programs in Dietetics (DPD) and Dietetic
Internship (DI) programs (N1,500) was conducted. The questionnaire
including demographics, knowledge, and attitude questions about
breastfeeding was developed, reviewed by experts for content validity, and
pilot-tested for internal reliability. SPSS was used to compute descriptive
statistics, independent sample t-tests, and ANOVA. Participants totaled 289
students (approximately 19.3%). The average computed knowledge score
(Max25.0) was 13.5 (SD4.3). Students were more knowledgeable about
breastfeeding benefits (MSD4.91.6 of max7) than recommendations,
techniques, or barriers; and those with bachelors degrees showed
significantly higher average knowledge scores (15.64.1) than undergraduate
students (12.54.2, p0.001). When aggregate attitude scores were
computed, respondents had positive attitudes toward breastfeeding in general
(14.02.3 of max20) and their future role in encouraging breastfeeding
(11.31.2 of max13). Respondents with bachelors degrees had higher
attitude scores in general regarding breastfeeding than undergraduate
students (15.52.2 vs. 13.82.2, p0.001), but there was no significant
difference in perceived future role in encouraging breastfeeding. Students
who completed both lifecycle and community nutrition courses had higher
knowledge and attitude scores than those who completed only one or neither
course (p0.01). Results show dietetic students have positive attitudes
toward breastfeeding but may need further education in breastfeeding
recommendations, techniques, and barriers.
Funding Disclosure: Human Nutrition Research Fund, State of Texas
Title: IMPROVING BREASTFEEDING INITIATION
PRACTICES THROUGH ONLINE THEORY BASED
EDUCATION FOR HEALTHCARE PRACTITIONERS
Author(s): J. Weddig,1 S. Baker,2 G. Auld2; 1HEP, Metro State, Denver,
CO, 2FSHN, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO a
Learning Outcome: 4140.
Text: Health care practitioners play an integral role both in a womans
initial decision to breastfeed and how long they successfully breastfeed..
Consistent messages from healthcare providers that promote breastfeeding
can increase initiation and duration. However, many dietitians have little
or no formal education in breastfeeding initiation. Moreover, most
dietitians find it difficult to take time away from their busy schedules to
physically attend courses which may help them acquire this knowledge.
The unfortunate result of this lack of training is that many patients
receive conflicting advice and insufficient instruction in breastfeeding
techniques from their healthcare professionals and state that this is a
primary reason for discontinuing breastfeeding. A solution to this problem
was to create a 1 credit online course for nutrition students and
healthcare practitioners to teach breastfeeding initiation best practices.
This course is a 100% online course with a 4-hour in person practicum.
The course and practicum aims to translate current research into practice
and improve the knowledge, skills, behaviors and attitudes of dietitians
and nutrition students in relationship to evidence based practices in
patient breastfeeding initiation. Improving Breastfeeding Initiation
Practices Through Online Theory Based Education for Healthcare
Professionals has been taught for 3 semesters to dietitians, registered
nurses and nutrition students. The data collected include knowledge and
attitude change using 2 different online tools. The data show knowledge
change in the pilot group. We are still collecting knowledge, behavior, and
attitude change data from the 2nd and 3rd intervention groups.
Funding Disclosure: COPAN grant
Title: MATERNAL NUTRITION AND ORAL HEALTH PSYCHOSOCIAL
FACTORS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD CARIES
Author(s): S. E. D. Cunningham,1 D. M. Hoelscher,2 J. R. Herbold,3
M. Farokhi,1 S. M. Cano,4 S. H. Kelder2; 1Community Dentistry, University of
Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, 2Austin Regional
Campus, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public
Health, Houston, TX, 3San Antonio Regional Campus, University of Texas
Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health, Houston, TX,
4
Management Science and Statistics, University of Texas at San Antonio, San
Antonio, TX
Learning Outcome: To describe the association between selected maternal
psychosocial nutrition and oral health factors and Early Childhood Caries.
Text: Background: Early Childhood Caries (ECC) is the most common chronic
infectious disease of childhood worldwide. Seven of ten American children have
1 decayed or filled primary teeth by age five. ECC prevalence is especially high
in lower socio-economic ethnic populations. ECC is a diet-induced disease, and
most research has examined biological factors, while maternal psychosocial
factors, have received scant attention. Objective: To examine the association of
maternal psychosocial factors (nutrition and oral health knowledge, attitudes,
and beliefs, as well as social support and self-efficacy) in a population of socio-
economically disadvantaged very young children. Methods: This study
examined the relationship between selected maternal psychosocial variables and
ECC in a cluster random sample of Mexican-American women and very young
children participating in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for
Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) in San Antonio, Texas. Mothers were
surveyed by use of a criteria- and content-valid, reliable questionnaire, and
dental examinations were conducted on 191 children, aged 5 to 47 months old.
Results: 39% of the children presented with at least one decayed or filled
primary tooth. On a 30-question scale, women whose children were diagnosed
with ECC were found to demonstrate lower Knowledge (p0.03), Attitudes
(p0.02), Beliefs (p0.04), and Social Support (p0.01) scores, compared to
women whose children were caries-free. No differences in Self-Efficacy scores
were found between groups. Conclusions: These data indicate that current
ECC etiological model associated with ECC in low income Mexican-American
young children should consider maternal psychosocial factors when planning
educational approaches to reduce ECC prevalence.
Funding Disclosure: Colgate-Palmolive Fellowship in Oral Health
Nutrition, American Dietetic Association Foundation
Journal of the AMERICAN DIETETIC ASSOCIATION / A-113