Effectiveness of two training methods to improve the quality of foodservice in small facilities for adult care

Abstract

Objective: Community-based adult-care facilities (ACFs) with fewer than 25 beds provide homes for persons with disabilities who cannot live independently. The staff in these facilities are not required to have any formal foodservice training, yet they provide meals for the residents. The objective of this study was to evaluate the quality of foodservices before and after a foodservice training program.

Design: Forty-six ACFs from six health-unit areas throughout the province of British Columbia were enrolled in the study, which involved a pretest-posttest design over a 5-month period. The health units were randomly assigned to one of three programs.

Intervention: The ACFs received either a training workshop plus foodservice manual developed specifically for ACFs, the manual only, or no intervention.

Main outcome measures: Facilities were audited on performance in food purchasing, menu planning, food safety, and food storage. These areas were rated according to established minimum government regulations and other foodservice standards. Differences between the two audit scores (postintervention score minus preintervention score) were analyzed for each program section. Group comparisons were done using analysis of covariance procedures, with the initial score being the covariable.

Results: No treatment effect was found on performance for food purchasing and food storage. Training via workshop plus manual resulted in a significant improvement in audit scores for menu planning and food safety compared with training via the manual alone.

Application: Dietitians should consider providing foodservice training workshops for similar types of facilities. The benefits of providing a manual alone are negligible.