Nutrient intake of institutionalized developmentally disabled individuals: impact of the nutrition knowledge of paraprofessionals.

The role of the caretaker in enhancing nutrient intake of developmentally disabled individuals living in an institutional setting was examined. Eighty developmentally disabled residents living at the Western Carolina Center, Morganton, NC, were assessed for anthropometric measurements and for dietary intake, with a 3-day plate waste study. Seventy paraprofessionals/feeders working at the same center were assessed for knowledge of nutrition and food practices and participated in a series of inservice programs on nutrition. Pretest and post-test scores for knowledge of nutrition and food practices were determined. For the paraprofessionals/feeders, inservice programs on nutrition resulted in increased knowledge of nutrition but did not increase the nutritional quality of their own diets. However, statistically significant differences were noted in residents' diets for calories (p less than .05), iron (p less than .05), and niacin (p less than .05) attributable to the inservice programs on nutrition.