SNAP‐Ed Participants' Long‐Term Behavior Change Retention following a 6‐Lesson Intervention

The educational component of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP‐Ed) uses nutrition education to help low‐income families make healthy food choices to prevent diet‐related diseases, an objective that requires participants to maintain healthy behaviors after the intervention. This study explores the extent to which behaviors are maintained 6 months after completing a 6‐lesson intervention on fruits and vegetables. Self‐reported behavior change for four indicators was measured at baseline, at the end of the study, and 6 months after the study ended, using Ohio's Fruit and Vegetable Retrospective Survey. Univariate repeated‐measures ANOVAs on each indicator showed a significant difference in behavior between baseline and both the end of the study and the 6‐month follow‐up, but not between the end of the study and 6‐month follow‐up (Table 1). These results suggest that participants (n=32) maintained the behaviors from the six‐lesson fruits and vegetables intervention for a period of up to 6 months (p<.05). Support by Extension Directors/Administrators of the Land‐Grant University System through a Land‐Grant SNAP‐Ed Office assessment grant.