| Each year, an estimated 76 million cases of foodborne illness occur in the United States. Adequate cooking of meats is an important factor in preventing these foodborne infections.; Despite efforts by food safety educators, consumers are reluctant to follow recommendations to use a food thermometer. A better understanding of factors that affect the attitudes and behavior of consumers regarding the cooking of small cuts of meat and a well-planned intervention trial are needed.; Utilizing the Transtheoretical Model, a questionnaire was developed and validated by expert review, cognitive interviews with non-experts and pilot-testing with 1,000 randomly selected subjects (48% response rate) in Washington and Idaho (WAID) and 231 selected subjects (62% response rate) who have been involved in nutrition or food safety education (EXT). Face validity, content validity, construct validity and concurrent validity were assessed and the questionnaire was revised accordingly. The questionnaire had stable consistencies of alpha = 0.56 and alpha = 0.57 for the WAID group and the EXT group, respectively. A detailed format stage classification question classified more accurately (alpha = 0.7287) than a simple format question (alpha = 0.3497).; Almost all WAID respondents (86%) were in Precontemplation with only 4% in Maintenance. In contrast, about half the EXT respondents (52%) were in Precontemplation and 24% were in Maintenance. The proportional difference between these two groups was significant (P < 0.0001), indicating the questionnaire adequately distinguished between the groups.; An intervention trial was conducted with 2,500 consumers utilizing a pre-intervention survey (32% return rate), education materials about thermometer use and a post-intervention survey (50% response rate). The intervention resulted in increased thermometer use with 23% in Action and Maintenance (an increase from 4% classified in these stages in the pre-intervention). Correlations between Stages of Change and behaviors and attitudes about thermometer use were mostly significant (P < 0.05). TTM-related constructs including Self-Efficacy, Decisional Balance and Processes of Change were very useful to examine differences among people at different stages.; This study demonstrated that a stage-appropriate intervention program to promote using a food thermometer for small cuts of meat was effective in terms of providing information, educating about new research findings, and motivating people to use a food thermometer. |
