Establishment of accreditation criteria for nutrition and dietary education materials

This study provides standardized scientific criteria for education materials on nutrition and diet that could be used in schools, workplaces, and health and medical facilities. The study was conducted from April 2011 to October 2011. Literature reviews, institutional visits, and telephone interviews were conducted for the first draft of the accreditation criteria. Expert meeting and advisory councils were conducted in order to obtain feedback after development of the first draft of accreditation criteria. In order to verify the validity and reliability of the first draft on certification criteria, a survey was sent out to 143 professionals, including professors, researchers, health and medical experts, teachers, nutrition teachers, dietitians, and clinical nutritionists. After several modifications, the final accreditation criteria were established for 1) printed materials (authority, credibility, objectivity, organization, editing, real-life usability, activities and participation, and public interest), 2) web-sites (authority, credibility, objectivity, design, real-life usability, accessibility, currency, and public interest) and 3) materials with activities (credibility, organization, design, convenience of utilizing, safety, and public interest). Out of several criteria, contents (authority, credibility. and objectivity) and publicity (public interest) areas are mandatory requirements. For the accreditation, books for learning and materials with activities are required to meet more than six evaluation components, and the other materials are required to meet more than five evaluation components, including the required area. Accreditation criteria developed in this study could be used as a standard for development or selection of good education materials for nutrition and dietary life.