Poster 49th Nutrition Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting 2025

Food and nutrition for better health and wellbeing; co-consultation focus groups to develop culinary nutrition learning modules for Australian teachers.   (129925)

Tammie Jakstas 1 2 , Andrew Miller 3 4 , Vanessa A Shrewsbury 2 , Tamara Bucher 2 5 , Clare E Collins 1 2
  1. School of Health Sciences, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia
  2. Food and Nutrition Research Program, Hunter Medical Research Insitute, New Lambton, NSW, Australia
  3. Priority Research Centre for Teachers and Teaching, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia
  4. School of Education , The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia
  5. School of Health Professions, Bern University of Applied Sciences, Bern, Switzerland

Teacher food and nutrition (FN) practices are affected by school specific barriers, especially time and workload pressures, with implications for their overall health and wellbeing. The Australian longitudinal teacher FN-related health and wellbeing study explored the potential FN and other predictors of teacher burnout(1). It identified a negative correlation between teacher burnout with teacher workload while higher food agency scores were protective. This data informed the development of a three-module online program to address teacher wellbeing: Module 1 (M1) Healthy dietary patterns and your health, M2 Cooking and food skills for your health, M3 Taking time to eat. The research applied a co-consultation approach with teacher input sort on the proposed format, content and delivery method. This was important given Teacher FN education that includes development of food agency is a previously unexplored method of improving teacher wellbeing. A convenience sample of teachers (n=12) was recruited using social media and professional teacher associations to participate in two focus groups. The online Zoom meeting platform was used to host and record each focus group. Polls using a 5-point Likert-scale (i.e., strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, strongly agree) were used to determine the level of consensus on module structure, suitability of the information for the target audience, proposed timeframes, and activity inclusions. Auto-transcripts were created and de-identified prior to analysis. The transcripts were reviewed for common themes, and additional feedback from participants. A total of two primary and ten secondary teachers participated in both focus groups. With the majority being female (n=10), from New South Wales (n=7; with Queensland, Victorian and South Australian teachers represented). Initial feedback indicated a preference for micro-learning sessions (approximately 15-20 minutes in length) to engage teacher learners, with interactive style activities and opportunities to share ideas with colleague’s important inclusions. All participants agreed (A) or strongly agreed (SA) the proposed content would meet the needs of teachers; M1 (50% A, 50% SA), M2 (42% A, 58% SA), M3 (25% A, 75% SA). The online method was confirmed as suitable for program delivery, with a diverse range of learning platforms currently used by participants. Overall, the focus groups provided a method of incorporating teacher voice into the development process of the program to ensure the content, delivery methods, and activities where suitability targeted to a teacher audience with consideration of teacher-specific needs and barriers. Pilot testing of the program is required to establish acceptability of the content, activities, and delivery method with a wider teacher audience. Educating teachers to achieve better FN-related health and wellbeing is a step towards sustaining a healthy and thriving teacher workforce with benefits for the future student generations in their care.

  1. Jakstas T, Miller A, Shrewsbury VA, et al. (2025 Unpublished paper, under peer review)