Assessment of an online piloted module targeted toward home-based food operators in Iowa

Understanding safe food practice is important for home-based food operators to prevent foodborne illness. Earlier work has found that home-based food operators lack food safety knowledge and may benefit from training that is specifically tailored to their needs. Unfortunately, home-based food operators may be deterred from enrolling in traditional educational formats due to their busy schedules. The objective of this study was to pilot and evaluate the effectiveness of an online food safety education module for home-based food operators in Iowa through three learning assessments. Twenty-one participants enrolled in a blended workshop in which participants completed one online module before attending a face-to-face session where they completed the remaining five modules. The effectiveness of the online module was measured by examining the first-attempt average scores on learning assessments, the number of assessment attempts required to achieve 100%, and the first-attempt performance by question type. The three learning assessment tools resulted in first-attempt averages of approximately 86%, 90%, and 83%, surpassing our standard of effectiveness of 75% and showing good potential for the online format. The learning assessment attempt numbers of 4.65, 1.67, and 3.81 showed difficulty with knowledge transfer for some topics. Comprehension and analysis-style questions had first-attempt success rates of approximately 85% and 88%, respectively. Scores on knowledge and application-style questions were lower with first-attempt success rates of approximately 80% and 75%, respectively. These findings were used to improve the first online module and guide the transition of the remaining five modules to the online format.