Effects of Education on the Knowledge and Self-efficacy of Health Volunteers about the Necessity of Moldy Bread Separation from Other Bread Waste

Background and Bread waste is consumed as a food in the livestock, and can cause considerable harm to human and animal beings if they are moldy. Since health volunteers can convey health knowledge to people in a simple and intelligible language, the present study was conducted to evaluate the knowledge of health volunteers about the necessity of moldy bread separation from other bread waste and the effect of education on their knowledge in the Abkooh Sugar Factory of Mashhad. Methods and Materials: In this interventional experimental study, 39 active health volunteers at the health center of Abkooh Sugar Factory of Mashhad, Iran participated and were recruited by non-probability convenient sampling, and were randomly assigned into the experimental group (n=21) and control group (n=18). Relevant data were collected through questionnaire and training was performed by providing a CD (educational video) for the experimental group. After a two-month training period, data were collected again. Data of before and after training were analyzed in SPSS 16 using paired t-test and mean± SD (p<0.05). After training, the scores of volunteers in the intervention group raised from 22.86±4.8 to 26.36±4.9; and paired t-test showed a significant difference between their scores before and after education (p=0.03). Also, their perceived self-efficacy on the necessity of separation of moldy bread from other bread waste was significantly different across the two groups (p=0.023). The results indicated the effect of education on the knowledge of health volunteers about the necessity of moldy bread separation from other bread waste.