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Economic analysis of bilingual interactive multimedia nutrition education
Susan Martin Gould1, Jennifer Anderson
1Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523-1571, USA.
Context:
Interactive multimedia (IMM) provides a means to deliver accurate, consistent, and convenient nutrition education.
Objective:
To compare direct costs of bilingual IMM and peer nutrition education methods.
Design:
Cost per unit of nutrition education for each delivery method was calculated.
Setting:
Touch-screen computer kiosk systems in food assistance programs.
Participants:
Approximately 727 low-income and Hispanic persons.
Intervention:
Bilingual IMM and nutrition education classes taught by peer educators.
Main Outcome Measures:
Cost per unit of nutrition education delivered.
Analysis:
Descriptive: to compare costs and determine break-even points.
Results:
Initially, costs for both methods dropped and then nearly leveled for the peer method at a break-even point of 633 units, whereas those for IMM continued to decrease.
Conclusions:
Interactive multimedia is a cost-effective method of delivering nutrition education, especially to large numbers of people.
Implications:
Use of this technology could reach additional low-income persons at decreasing costs.