Food safety training needs exist for staff and consumers in a variety of community-based homes for people with developmental disabilities.

OBJECTIVE

To determine staff and consumer-focused food safety training needs in community-based homes for people with developmental disabilities as well as dietitians' perceptions of food-handling practices in these homes.

DESIGN

Direct-care staff and dietitians were surveyed according to a modified Dillman method using a mailed, self-administered questionnaire. Main outcome measures included food-handling knowledge, attitudes, and practices of staff and consumers as reported by staff and dietitians; critical control points in safe food preparation in the homes based on the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point system; and learning preferences of staff and consumers.

SUBJECTS

A 10% probability sample of direct-care staff in homes for people with developmental disabilities in western Massachusetts and a nonprobability sample of dietitians who work with this population were surveyed. Results are reported from 132 and 18 respondents, respectively.

STATISTICAL ANALYSES PERFORMED

Descriptive statistics, chi 2 statistic, and the Fisher's exact test.

RESULTS

Staff knowledge of safe food preparation is lacking in several areas, including storage and handling procedures. Although staff and consumers do not always follow safe food-handling practices, the staff reported that they follow recommended food-handling practices more often than the dietitians reported they do. Most staff and dietitians reported that staff and consumers had never attended a food safety training program, but that all of the critical control points surveyed would be somewhat helpful if they were included in a food safety workshop.

APPLICATIONS

A food safety training program would be beneficial for staff and consumers. Programs should be geared to staff and include ideas and materials for consumers. Consumer modules could then be adapted to individual learning levels by direct-care staff in the homes. The Safe Food at Home workshop was developed on the basis of the results of this study and incorporates the approaches described in this article.