The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program's Impact on Graduates' Quality of Life.

Objective: To determine how the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) affects the quality of life (QoL) of its low-income adult participants.

Methods: A cross-sectional exploratory study using focus groups (n = 15) in 8 states with EFNEP participants (n = 111) 2-4 months after graduation. Focus groups were conducted with non-Hispanic white (4 groups), black (4), English-speaking Hispanic (4), and Spanish-speaking Hispanic (3) respondents. A priori template analysis based on constructs from the University of Toronto's Quality of Life Profile for Adults and constant comparative procedures were used to generate results.

Results: Participants reported following healthier dietary and physical activity behaviors and having increased motivation to improve themselves and greater satisfaction with life. All groups noted being a more positive influence on their families and a having willingness to learn and try new things.

Conclusions And Implications: The EFNEP enhances the QoL of its participants, which suggests that the program's benefits go beyond participants' documented nutrition and health-related behavior changes. In the future, EFNEP might examine whether improved QoL is also a predictor of sustained behavior change and a means for differentiating program impacts owing to variations in dose (number of contacts) or delivery methods (face-to-face vs online).