P-39 In-person vs online delivery of a nutrition education intervention for improving nutrition knowledge and attitudes of amateur adolescent basketballers in eastern Trinidad

Methods:  A single case intervention study of 69 New Chapter Global Sport Academy adolescent athletes, aged 10-19 years completed a self-administered nutrition knowledge and attitudes multiple choice questionnaire in-person and online. The nutrition education intervention consisted of two modules, which were conducted in-person (Intervention 1 - Nutrition Basics) and online via Zoom (Intervention 2 - Supplementation, Sports Drinks and Label Reading. The nutrition education intervention gain scores (post-test - pretest) were calculated and analysed using ANOVA.

Results:  The online intervention was more effective at improving participant nutrition knowledge and attitude, with a 21.57±11.48 mean change between pre and post-test scores compared to in-person interventions which had a mean change of 8.18±10.33. In-person nutrition education had significantly more learner engagement and had a 93.10% participant completion rate compared to 61.76% completion in online Intervention 2. The output of the dependent or paired t-test indicates for Intervention 1 (Mean Pre-test = 68.18±12.03, Mean Post-test =76.36±10.62, Average difference =8.18 p =< 0.01), and for Intervention 2 (Mean Pre-test =66.67±11.48, Mean Post-test=88.24±10.19, Average difference=21.56 p =< 0.01). Hence, the mean paired difference between pre and post-test scores in Intervention 1 and 2 does not equal zero.

Conclusion:  Overall, online interventions are more effective at improving overall nutrition knowledge and attitude scores of adolescent basketball players compared to in-person interventions which produce greater learner engagement and participation.