Testing the effectiveness of an educational intervention to increase dietary intake of calcium and vitamin D in young adult women

Purpose: To test the effectiveness of an educational intervention to increase dietary intake of calcium and vitamin D in young adult females aged 19-30 from two Midwestern states. Data sources: Study participants were 80 females who were not pregnant or breastfeeding and who resided in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Ankeny, Iowa. Conclusions: Knowledge of osteoporosis and the importance of dietary intake of calcium and vitamin D did improve after the intervention. Posttest scores on knowledge of osteoporosis, calcium, and vitamin D 8 weeks after the educational intervention were significantly higher than pretest scores (p ≤.01). However, there was no change in dietary intake of calcium, vitamin D, or dairy products from pre- to post-educational intervention. In addition, at pre- and post-educational intervention, intake of calcium, vitamin D, and dairy products were not adequate based on recommended daily allowance for young adult women. Implications for practice: Osteoporosis is a painful, disabling illness and prevention of osteoporosis is a lifelong process. Older women may suffer the devastating effects of osteoporosis because of deficiencies in their diet as young adult women. Nurse practitioners (NPs) could ask young female patients who are at risk for osteoporosis to complete a dietary recall and then provide these patients feedback on their diet. NPs could provide a patient handout of calcium-rich foods and sources of vitamin D, and work with each patient to set specific goals for increasing and/or obtaining adequate calcium and vitamin D. Follow-up visits could include an evaluation of the 3-day diet record, goal progress and resetting, and visual bar or linear graphs demonstrating the patients' progress. Finally, all patients who are progressing in meeting their goals should be provided positive reinforcement.