- Email: [email protected]
Lower elementary parents' school foodservice survey
ol
* o o o = o o o , o , = o e o o e o o o o J l e e o l o i J l a o o e o e o o a e e e e e o e e l o l o
Io,ot
o e = * l = o * l l , l , e o o t l = * o o l # o e l o = t l = t l = = o o o o o e o = , =
SUNDAY, OCTOBER21
POSTERSESSION:FOOD~FOODSERVICE~ANDMANAGEMENT/MEDICALNUTRITIONTHERAPY TITLE: LOWER ELEMENTARY PARENTS' SCHOOL FOODSERVICE SURVEY AUTHOR(S): Marc Kay Meyer, Phi), RD, Applied Research Division National Food Service Management Institute, Hattiesburg, MS LEARNING OUTCOME: To be familiar with the wants and needs o f parents o f lower elementary school children for school foodservice programs. ABSTRACT TEXT: In lower elementary schools it may not be "what" influences participation in the national school meals program but, "who" influences participation. During the elementary school years, children's attitudes generally are close approximations o f the attitudes held by their parents, family groups, and teachers. As a result, a study was initiated to develop a-survey to be used with parents o f kindergarten through second-grade students to assess their perceptions o f the school foodservice program. Five districts nation-wide participated in the study. Surveys, with a letter from the foodservice director, were sent home with the students. Pencils were used as an incentive for the children to return the completed surveys. A total o f 251 usable surveys were included in the analysis. Factor analysis was used to develop the construct o f the survey. Thirteen of the fourteen pilot questions loaded into the model that explained 60 % of the variance. Multiple regression was used to determine the relationship among the dependent variable, "Overall, m y child likes the school meals," and the independent variables, attributes o f the foodservice program. The analysis created a two variable model aceotmting for 70% o f the variance: "My child likes the foods provided," and "My child likes the taste o f the food." Convenience was the number one reason cited by parents for students eating school breakfast and lunch. To be successful in the dynamic business environment of the 21 a century, knowing the customer is vital. Knowing the customers for lower elementary school foodservice programs means knowing the parents' wants and needs for the foodservice programs.
TITLE: WOMEN FOOD SERVICE WORKERS' ATTITUDES REGARDING BEHAVIORS THAT CONSTITUTE SEXUAL HARASSMENT 1N THE WORKPLACE: A SURVEY STUDY A ~ O R ( S ) : Moya B Peters, MAA, RD, LMNT; Food Service Director, Beatrice Community Hospital and Health Center, Beatrice, Nebraska
THE THRILL OF VICTORY OR AGONY OF DEFEAT, HOW PILOT PROGRAMS CAN WORK TO YOUR ADVANTAGE L. R. Carnahan/Owens, M.S. RD/LD, Saint Francis Hospital, Tulsa, OK L.A. Coston, MBA, RD/LD, Saint Francis Hospital, Tulsa, OK Demonstrate use of pilot programs in justifying implementation of nontraditional nutrition services to improve patient satisfaction. Our large, 600 bed acute care facility places a high priority on patient satisfaction. Over the last 18 months six pilot programs were undertaken in hopes of improving scores for the three different benchmarking tools the department uses. The thrill of victory came with a cardiac buffet service. The nursing supervisor of cardiac rehabilitation wanted to get patients out of bed and moving. She enlisted our support and a one-month pilot program began. Nursing provided a congregate dining area and the finances for equipment. A simple buffet menu was designed with appropriate foods. Patients selected breakfast and dinner from menus, but had to walk to ltmch at the Cardiac Cafr, which served from 1100 to 1300. Patients perceived value of their meals improved as they reported the Car6 food was much better than their meal trays. With no increase in labor, satisfaction scores increased. Results were so positive from patients, families, physicians and staff that the caf~ has never closed. A spoken menu pilot was more of a challenge. Articles written about its success at other facilities prompted initiation of a pilot program. A surgical unit with one oftbe lowest patient satisfaction scores in the hospital was chosen to assist. Patients received a non-select breakfast tray but were personally visited by Nutrition staff one to two hours before tray service for both lunch and dinner. Standard menu options were suggested, but if preferred, other selections were offered until the patient was pleased. Selections were entered into the computer, tray tickets printed, trays assembled and patients received their exact choices. Nntrition-specific patient satisfaction scores taken for five weeks prior to the pilot were compared to scores taken during the four-week pilot. Although the non-select breakfast was viewed as a potential dissatisfier, not one patient complaint was received. Patient satisfaction improved by 25%. The time and labor involved in one to one patient contact ultimately lead to the agony of defeat as the extra FTE's needed to staff such a project were not approved. The department will ask for approval to budget for palm pilots for FY2002 in an attempt to improve satisfaction without significant labor increases.
TITLE: INFLUENCE OF AN INCENTIVE PROGRAM ON PRACTICE AND PREVALENCE OF HANDWASHING AMONG UNIVERSITY FOODSERVICE WORKERS AUTHOR(S): M. L. Witten, MS, RD, St. Joseph Regional Health Center, Bryan, TX; C.M. Bednar, PhD, RD, and J. Kwon, PhD, Texas Woman's University; Denton, TX; K. Butler, MS, RD, University of North Texas, Denton, TX
LEARNING OUTCOME: Participants will be able to identify the impact of hostile environment workplace situations on female employees and define appropriate work behaviors.
LEARNING OUTCOME: To determine handwashing practices and prevalence among university foodservice workers and the effectiveness of a handwashing incentive program.
ABSTRACT TEXT: Food service positions offer readily available employment across the United States; usually at minimum wage. This survey assessed the attitudes and reactions to sexual harassment scenarios by women employed in food service. A questionnaire was used to collect information on demographics (age, education, marital status, ethnicity, and religion) of female workers and their comfort with, offensivenessto, and most likely response to ten scenarios using a Likert scale. The population for this eross-sectional studywas 116 women completing a food service class at Southeast Community College in Lincoln, Nebraska. All members received mailed surveys coded for follow-up. Sixty one surveys were returned after two mailings. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics inelnding frequencies; percentages; and measures of central tendency and variability. A one way analysis ofvariance and Tukey-HSD (honestly significant difference) was conducted on the variables. Results indicated women rated their aneomfort with scenarios similarly to other research studies with the overall domain average being 3.17. The respondents rated their offense overall at 3.03. Reactions to statements presented followed similar patterns as other studies with the most likely reaction being to confront the harasser. Age and education levels were found to have significant (p<.05) impact on responses to sexual harassment work situations with lower education levels and lower age groups having much greater tolerance to situations presented. This survey found 33% of the respondents had quit a position due to an uncomfortable work environment; indicating significant fiscal impact to the food service industry. Current literature lacks research specific to industries employing large numbers of unskilled women. Information gained through this research contributes to training tool development and the development of guidelines for appropriate work behaviors.
ABSTRACT TEXT: Frequent handwashing with appropriate technique is considered very important in preventing the spread of foodbome illness in foodservice operations. This study was conducted with employees of a selected university dining hall in Texas as part of a food safety training initiative. A questionnaire was designed to collect information on employee education, foodservice experience and employment status. Two researchers observed handwashing practices of university foodservice workers (n=55) for 4 hours each during day 1, day 8 and day 18 of the study. On day 8, an incentive program that used a newly designed handwashing soap dispenser to tabulate handwashing frequency for 4 employee groups was implemented. At the end of the incentive period, employees in each group were awarded prizes. Forty-three out of 55 employees completed the questionnaire (78% response rate). Results showed that 22 had some college education, 20 had 6 or more years of foodservice experience, 19 were full time and 24 part-time. Observation showed that number of handwashings by employees for each 4-hour period was: day 1 - 79; day 8 71; day 18 - 100 with mean handwashing times of 20.6, 25.0 and 18.9 seconds respectively. Positive practices for the 3 days of handwashing observations included use of soap (98.0%); use of towels to turn off faucet handles (92.4%); and avoidance of touching self(95.9%). Analysis of variance showed no significant increase in positive practices after implementation of the incentive program; however, there was a decrease in cross contamination by touching faucet handles after washing (p<0.05). Although an incentive program may be used to encourage employee handwashing, the foodservice director must continue to monitor and observe practices by foodservice employees.
Journal of THE AMERICAN DIETETIC ASSOCIATION/A-21
* o o o = o o o , o , = o e o o e o o o o J l e e o l o i J l a o o e o e o o a e e e e e o e e l o l o
Io,ot
o e = * l = o * l l , l , e o o t l = * o o l # o e l o = t l = t l = = o o o o o e o = , =
SUNDAY, OCTOBER21
POSTERSESSION:FOOD~FOODSERVICE~ANDMANAGEMENT/MEDICALNUTRITIONTHERAPY TITLE: LOWER ELEMENTARY PARENTS' SCHOOL FOODSERVICE SURVEY AUTHOR(S): Marc Kay Meyer, Phi), RD, Applied Research Division National Food Service Management Institute, Hattiesburg, MS LEARNING OUTCOME: To be familiar with the wants and needs o f parents o f lower elementary school children for school foodservice programs. ABSTRACT TEXT: In lower elementary schools it may not be "what" influences participation in the national school meals program but, "who" influences participation. During the elementary school years, children's attitudes generally are close approximations o f the attitudes held by their parents, family groups, and teachers. As a result, a study was initiated to develop a-survey to be used with parents o f kindergarten through second-grade students to assess their perceptions o f the school foodservice program. Five districts nation-wide participated in the study. Surveys, with a letter from the foodservice director, were sent home with the students. Pencils were used as an incentive for the children to return the completed surveys. A total o f 251 usable surveys were included in the analysis. Factor analysis was used to develop the construct o f the survey. Thirteen of the fourteen pilot questions loaded into the model that explained 60 % of the variance. Multiple regression was used to determine the relationship among the dependent variable, "Overall, m y child likes the school meals," and the independent variables, attributes o f the foodservice program. The analysis created a two variable model aceotmting for 70% o f the variance: "My child likes the foods provided," and "My child likes the taste o f the food." Convenience was the number one reason cited by parents for students eating school breakfast and lunch. To be successful in the dynamic business environment of the 21 a century, knowing the customer is vital. Knowing the customers for lower elementary school foodservice programs means knowing the parents' wants and needs for the foodservice programs.
TITLE: WOMEN FOOD SERVICE WORKERS' ATTITUDES REGARDING BEHAVIORS THAT CONSTITUTE SEXUAL HARASSMENT 1N THE WORKPLACE: A SURVEY STUDY A ~ O R ( S ) : Moya B Peters, MAA, RD, LMNT; Food Service Director, Beatrice Community Hospital and Health Center, Beatrice, Nebraska
THE THRILL OF VICTORY OR AGONY OF DEFEAT, HOW PILOT PROGRAMS CAN WORK TO YOUR ADVANTAGE L. R. Carnahan/Owens, M.S. RD/LD, Saint Francis Hospital, Tulsa, OK L.A. Coston, MBA, RD/LD, Saint Francis Hospital, Tulsa, OK Demonstrate use of pilot programs in justifying implementation of nontraditional nutrition services to improve patient satisfaction. Our large, 600 bed acute care facility places a high priority on patient satisfaction. Over the last 18 months six pilot programs were undertaken in hopes of improving scores for the three different benchmarking tools the department uses. The thrill of victory came with a cardiac buffet service. The nursing supervisor of cardiac rehabilitation wanted to get patients out of bed and moving. She enlisted our support and a one-month pilot program began. Nursing provided a congregate dining area and the finances for equipment. A simple buffet menu was designed with appropriate foods. Patients selected breakfast and dinner from menus, but had to walk to ltmch at the Cardiac Cafr, which served from 1100 to 1300. Patients perceived value of their meals improved as they reported the Car6 food was much better than their meal trays. With no increase in labor, satisfaction scores increased. Results were so positive from patients, families, physicians and staff that the caf~ has never closed. A spoken menu pilot was more of a challenge. Articles written about its success at other facilities prompted initiation of a pilot program. A surgical unit with one oftbe lowest patient satisfaction scores in the hospital was chosen to assist. Patients received a non-select breakfast tray but were personally visited by Nutrition staff one to two hours before tray service for both lunch and dinner. Standard menu options were suggested, but if preferred, other selections were offered until the patient was pleased. Selections were entered into the computer, tray tickets printed, trays assembled and patients received their exact choices. Nntrition-specific patient satisfaction scores taken for five weeks prior to the pilot were compared to scores taken during the four-week pilot. Although the non-select breakfast was viewed as a potential dissatisfier, not one patient complaint was received. Patient satisfaction improved by 25%. The time and labor involved in one to one patient contact ultimately lead to the agony of defeat as the extra FTE's needed to staff such a project were not approved. The department will ask for approval to budget for palm pilots for FY2002 in an attempt to improve satisfaction without significant labor increases.
TITLE: INFLUENCE OF AN INCENTIVE PROGRAM ON PRACTICE AND PREVALENCE OF HANDWASHING AMONG UNIVERSITY FOODSERVICE WORKERS AUTHOR(S): M. L. Witten, MS, RD, St. Joseph Regional Health Center, Bryan, TX; C.M. Bednar, PhD, RD, and J. Kwon, PhD, Texas Woman's University; Denton, TX; K. Butler, MS, RD, University of North Texas, Denton, TX
LEARNING OUTCOME: Participants will be able to identify the impact of hostile environment workplace situations on female employees and define appropriate work behaviors.
LEARNING OUTCOME: To determine handwashing practices and prevalence among university foodservice workers and the effectiveness of a handwashing incentive program.
ABSTRACT TEXT: Food service positions offer readily available employment across the United States; usually at minimum wage. This survey assessed the attitudes and reactions to sexual harassment scenarios by women employed in food service. A questionnaire was used to collect information on demographics (age, education, marital status, ethnicity, and religion) of female workers and their comfort with, offensivenessto, and most likely response to ten scenarios using a Likert scale. The population for this eross-sectional studywas 116 women completing a food service class at Southeast Community College in Lincoln, Nebraska. All members received mailed surveys coded for follow-up. Sixty one surveys were returned after two mailings. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics inelnding frequencies; percentages; and measures of central tendency and variability. A one way analysis ofvariance and Tukey-HSD (honestly significant difference) was conducted on the variables. Results indicated women rated their aneomfort with scenarios similarly to other research studies with the overall domain average being 3.17. The respondents rated their offense overall at 3.03. Reactions to statements presented followed similar patterns as other studies with the most likely reaction being to confront the harasser. Age and education levels were found to have significant (p<.05) impact on responses to sexual harassment work situations with lower education levels and lower age groups having much greater tolerance to situations presented. This survey found 33% of the respondents had quit a position due to an uncomfortable work environment; indicating significant fiscal impact to the food service industry. Current literature lacks research specific to industries employing large numbers of unskilled women. Information gained through this research contributes to training tool development and the development of guidelines for appropriate work behaviors.
ABSTRACT TEXT: Frequent handwashing with appropriate technique is considered very important in preventing the spread of foodbome illness in foodservice operations. This study was conducted with employees of a selected university dining hall in Texas as part of a food safety training initiative. A questionnaire was designed to collect information on employee education, foodservice experience and employment status. Two researchers observed handwashing practices of university foodservice workers (n=55) for 4 hours each during day 1, day 8 and day 18 of the study. On day 8, an incentive program that used a newly designed handwashing soap dispenser to tabulate handwashing frequency for 4 employee groups was implemented. At the end of the incentive period, employees in each group were awarded prizes. Forty-three out of 55 employees completed the questionnaire (78% response rate). Results showed that 22 had some college education, 20 had 6 or more years of foodservice experience, 19 were full time and 24 part-time. Observation showed that number of handwashings by employees for each 4-hour period was: day 1 - 79; day 8 71; day 18 - 100 with mean handwashing times of 20.6, 25.0 and 18.9 seconds respectively. Positive practices for the 3 days of handwashing observations included use of soap (98.0%); use of towels to turn off faucet handles (92.4%); and avoidance of touching self(95.9%). Analysis of variance showed no significant increase in positive practices after implementation of the incentive program; however, there was a decrease in cross contamination by touching faucet handles after washing (p<0.05). Although an incentive program may be used to encourage employee handwashing, the foodservice director must continue to monitor and observe practices by foodservice employees.
Journal of THE AMERICAN DIETETIC ASSOCIATION/A-21