Limitations and implications for research and practice
RECRUITMENT
Our study had limitations. Firstly, using a convenience sample from a single university may restrict the generalisability of the findings. To improve validity and applicability, replicating the intervention at other educational institutions is crucial. Moreover, selecting two schools with comparable characteristics as experimental and control groups would enhance result validity by avoiding contamination. This approach ensures that the results are not influenced by factors unique to a particular university. Conducting the intervention in multiple schools would provide more comprehensive insights into its effectiveness.Secondly, an unbalanced distribution of gender and grades could result in the underrepresentation of certain groups. Like other nutrition education intervention studiesThirdly, this pilot study is the initial step in assessing the potential of a future full-scale project. To determine the intervention’s effectiveness, it is crucial to conduct larger studies with diverse student characteristics, a longer intervention duration, and include a delay effect evaluation, allowing for a comprehensive evaluation. Furthermore, to better assess the unique impact of the intervention and consider the effects of different instructional methods and delivery formats, it would be beneficial to include additional comparison groups. Incorporating a traditional nutrition education group and a face-to-face intervention group could provide valuable insights and contribute to a more comprehensive evaluation of the intervention’s effects.Additionally, owing to the online course’s voluntary nature, it is likely that students who enrolled already possessed some interest in the topic. Consequently, the control group, despite not receiving any intervention, showed a slight improvement in their healthy eating behaviour from the pretest to post-test periods. Although this improvement lacked statistical significance, it suggests that the recruitment process and pretest may have influenced participants’ awareness of healthy eating. Careful interpretation of these findings is warranted. To strengthen evidence of the intervention’s effectiveness, researchers should secure adequate funding for a second wave of intervention targeting the same population. This follow-up study would yield more robust evidence regarding the intervention’s impact on the participants.To enhance confidence in the evaluation results, we measured Nutrition Literacy Measure for Taiwanese College Students using a self-rated questionnaire and a scenario-based literacy testThis study addressed the developmental process of a scenario-based NL online programme for college students, incorporating NL indicators and real-life scenarios. Preliminary evidence was provided to support the effectiveness of the intervention. However, further research is required to establish stronger evidence. The positive outcomes found here encourage stakeholders to consider adopting this online scenario-based approach for promoting nutrition education in higher education. Continuous self-directed online learning can relieve pressure on school health staff and better cater to college students’ learning needs.