Método educativo ENGI para la promoción de las guías alimentarias en el escenario comunitario

Introduction: The School of Nutrition at the University of Costa Rica (ENu-UCR) developed the Interactive Group Nutrition Education (ENGI) method many years ago. The objective of this research is to apply the ENGI method in the community setting to promote healthy eating using dietary guidelines (GABSA-2022). Methodology: Mixed-method, cross-sectional, exploratory, and descriptive study. The population comprised nine community groups of adults and older adults from the urban area of San José (N = 141) who, as part of an ENu-UCR degree course, received the Healthy Eating course (8 sessions) taught by nine pairs of students (N = 18) under teacher supervision, from August to December 2023. Data collection was carried out using the Guide for Planning Educational Interventions, teaching plans, WhatsApp® groups, the Instrument for Monitoring Practical Performance, and two evaluation forms. Results: The ENGI method was well received by participants. The main point of improvement was the increase in the duration of each session by 30 minutes. Despite being a short intervention, 60% of participants reported changes in their daily habits after the course. It is worth reviewing the use of terms in the GABSA, as well as some topics of interest to communities. Conclusions: ENGI can function as a systematized methodology to promote healthy eating together with the use of GABSA-2022 at the community level.