Education and certification influence the nutrition and management knowledge of long-term-care foodservice managers

To describe nutrition knowledge, attitude toward nutrition, and management knowledge of long-term-care foodservice managers and to determine the relationship between these variables and the foodservice managers' personal and facility characteristics.

Nutrition knowledge, management knowledge, and attitudes toward nutrition were measured using survey methodology designed for this study by modifying an instrument developed by the Nutrition Education Training Program for the Texas Department of Human Services.

Surveys were mailed to a random sample of 300 long-term-care foodservice directors from the 1,092 directors listed in the 1996 Ohio Department of Health Directory of Nursing Homes. The participants were 123 of the 300 foodservice directors (41%).

Descriptive statistics, Spearman rank correlations, 1-way analysis of variance, and post hoc variance were calculated.

Mean scores of respondents were 21.2 out of a possible 29 (73%) for the nutrition knowledge assessment, and 18.2 out of 26 (70%) for management knowledge. Dietitians and dietetic technicians scored significantly better than others on these tests. The mean score of attitudes toward nutrition was 4 on a 5-point scale (where 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree). All participants requested more training in computers, nutrition terminology, and preparing appealing foods.

Dietitians and dietetic technicians are prepared with a wide scope of knowledge in nutrition and management. Thus, they are in an ideal position to take advantage of job opportunities in the area of foodservice management.