Interactive group education for refugees from the Former Yugoslavia to reduce their oil consumption

In 1999 at an outpatient dietetic consultation in Geneva, Switzerland, 20% of the patients were refugees. Most were from the Former Yugoslavia. The main goal of dietary counseling was to decrease their fat consumption. As one-on-one counseling was unsuccessful, a pilot intervention was developed to explore the potential of participatory workshops for identifying and implementing appropriate behaviors. Four series of three workshops were held. Participants identified and practiced ways to reduce fat consumption. Knowledge skills were measured on completion of the workshops and 6 months later. Oil was highly valued in participants' representation of health. However, average reduction of oil per recipe was 58%, or 35 ml (95% CI: 15-55). The application of oil-sparing techniques increased nine-fold. Such an approach may be an alternative to one-on-one dietary counseling where this is ineffective. Next steps should include a trial to determine the impact of new skills on actual fat consumption.