Abstract

This study was carried out to investigate the status of the utilization of internet and dietary information by elementary school dietitians (total=201) The results were summarized as follows: All subjects used the internet regularly and the major purpose they mentioned for using it was "data search" (72.3%). Those having a frequency of using the internet 6 to 7 times per week were 46.7% of the subjects and the majority indicated the duration of their use of the internet was "<2 hours" (68.5%). They mainly used the internet at "school" (81.8%), and their favorite search engines were "Daum" (41.1%) and "Yahoo" (34.7%). They stated that the organization that offered reliable internet information were those "related to society and organizations" (36.9%) and "educational institutions" (33.8%). Ninety-five percent of the subjects searched for dietary information mainly "for public affairs" (80.0%) Their degree of satisfaction when searching for information was high (78.7%). Those dissatisfied with internet sites when searching for dietary information give the following reasons: "poor information" (39.1%) and "slow updates" (25.4%). They acquired information on nutrition and health management mainly through "the internet" (63.6%) The most frequently requested information about public affairs was on "Materials for nutritional education" (38.6%) and "up-to-date nutritional information" (16.0%) . The desirable update periods for websites was "1-3 months" (51.8%) and "<1 month" (30.6%), and the favorite site colors were "blue" (37.8%) and "green" (37.8%). The results of this study showed that, although the internet usage was high, the dietitians were dissatisfied with the information obtained. Therefore, the information donors should find out what kind of dietary information is needed by elementary school dietitians.

• Keywords: elementary school dietitian; internet; dietary information