Factors Associated with Behavioral Intention to Participate in Nutrition Education Activities in Employees of a Food Company

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the factors associated with employee's behavioral intention to participate in nutrition education activities in employees of a food company.
Methods: A self-administered survey of 501 employees of the O company, a takeout boxed-meal chain, was conducted. Of these responses, 390 were valid (valid response rate 77.8%). The study was designed using the Theory of Reasoned Action. The employees were divided into three groups on the basis of their behavioral intention to participate in nutrition education activities as follows: strongly agree (23.6%), somewhat agree (37.4%), and uncertain or disagree (39.0%). We evaluated the associations of behavioral intention with 1) attitudes and subjective norms regarding nutrition education activities in the company; 2) attitudes, knowledge, and skills for consumer support; and 3) the employee's quality of life, subjective health, changes caused by nutrition education activities, and demographics. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used for identifying factors that influence behavioral intention.
Results: The intention to participate in nutrition education activities in the company was associated with interests in nutrition education (OR 5.34 [CI 2.86~9.95]), subjective norms regarding nutrition education activities (2.65 [1.81~3.88]), and awareness regarding the term and meaning of “nutrition education” (2.40 [1.19~4.82]).
Conclusions: The results of this study show the association of behavioral intention to participate in nutrition education activities in the food company with interest in nutrition education as well as subjective norms regarding nutrition education activities. These findings propose a specific strategy for increasing the employees' behavioral intention.