Over 36 million Americans (U.S. Census Bureau, 2009) are age 65 or older with the number of seniors in the U.S. expected to double over the next 30 years1. At the opposite side of spectrum, approximately 82 million Americans are age 15 or younger. About 10% of the elderly say they cannot perform basic daily living activities, such as bathing, shopping, dress, or eating, and supervised care is required for approximately 7% of the population who are younger than 5 years of age. Both the young and old plus compromised immune individuals are our high risk population for foodborne illnesses and death2,3,4.
Nevada has been one of the fastest growing states in the US for the past two decades and such growth is associated with increases in population that faces relatively large food safety hazards (elderly, young children, those with immune compromised problems). Nevada also ranks high with regards to being one of the unhealthiest states with its high rates of tobacco use, heart disease, cancer and low birth weights5,6,7,8.
Preventing foodborne illness and death remains a major public health challenge9,10,11,12 and substantially reducing foodborne disease outbreaks is a goal of Healthy People 2010. Caregivers for these at risk populations represent the front line of defense regarding preventing foodborne illnesses13,14. Surveys of child-care and adult/elderly care givers in Nevada identified that care providers need more education about safe food handling15,16. Among their concerns were to become informed about causes of foodborne illnesses and how to prevent their clients from sickness due to problem foods. Furthermore, educational modules need to provide caregivers food safety information so that they can be in compliance with the Nevada “food code” (NAC 446). There is also concern for better food safety guidance in the numerous institutional care facilities and various food providers, particularly with regard to large number of employees, high turnover of and literacy/culture issues including language barriers17.
The Internet has become a common tool for facilitating business transactions, fostering communication, and aiding for-profit and non-profit companies and organizations to better compete. An additional benefit of the Internet is the ability to facilitate outreach and Cooperative Extension efforts18.
According to U.S. Census Bureau, in 2003, 70 million American households, or 62 percent, have one or more computers, up 56 percent from 2001. Sixty-two million households, or 55 percent, had internet access, up from 50 percent in 2001, and more than triple the proportion of households with Internet access in 1997 (18 percent) 19. By 2003, more adult computer users accessed the Internet than performed any other computing task: 89 percent of home users and 75 percent of those at work19. Households in the West have had the highest rates of access to these technologies, at 67 percent in 2003. In 2003, over 60 percent of all Nevadans had a computer at home and over 50 percent had Internet access19.
Several articles have been have been published regarding the use of internet for college coursework and professional development, but few studies have looked at the use of online education with the public.