Talk-back television: continuing education for the 1980s.

Sixty-seven dietitians (N = 67) who participated in a talk-back television course in June 1981 were solicited for information to evaluate this method of continuing education. Responses (90%) supported data in the professional literature which specified that cost and distance deterred attendance at continuing education programs. Although problems such as technical difficulties and impersonal nature were identified with talk-back television, the majority of respondents (83%) gave it positive ratings and stated that they would participate in other such programs. Improvements need to be considered to enhance the attractiveness of this mode of learning for dietitians, but during the financial retrenchment of the 1980s, talk-back television appears to be supported as cost-effective and desirable.