Efficiency evaluation of the increasing microbiota literacy training program in parents with preschool children

Öznur Muz, F.N. Efficiency Evaluation Of The Increasing Microbiota Literacy Training Program In Parents With Preschool Children, Eskişehir Osmangazi University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Public Health, Medical Speciality Thesis, Eskisehir, 2024 The aim of the study is to create a training program to increase microbiota literacy in parents with preschool children and to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. The study is a quasi-experimental intervention research conducted between April 2022 and January 2024. Since there is no scale in the literature that can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the training program, the Microbiota Literacy Scale (MLS) had to be developed first. The methodological part of the study was conducted in 254 employees from Eskişehir Osmangazi University. The MLS was developed and found to be a valid and reliable measurement tool. In the intervention phase of the study, a total of 93 parents in the intervention (n=48) and control group (n=45) constituted the study group. The "Microbiota-Containing Nutrition Education" program was applied to the parents in the intervention group. The content of the training program was designed by the researcher and included a video animation consisting of 2 modules that parents could watch with their children. The control group was shown the video animation titled "Plastic is everywhere!" within the scope of the "Zero Waste Education Project". In the study, there was an increase in the scores obtained from the MLS in the intervention group parents after the intervention compared to before the intervention. After follow-up, there were positive changes in healthy food consumption, nutrition literacy (general nutrition knowledge, reading comprehension, knowledge of food groups and portion sizes) and microbiota literacy (conceptual knowledge, functional knowledge and self-efficacy). In the intervention group, the change of pre-intervention and post-follow-up MLS scores was higher than in the control group. The fact that the prepared training program was based on digital methods, improved knowledge and attitudes positively and received positive feedback from parents, it was thought that it could be an example to be used primarily in adult nutrition education, and could be developed in the future and added to the training programs of nursery, kindergarten and primary school children. Key Words: microbiota, nutrition, training programs, parents with preschool children, quasi-experimental study