Communication and education of mushroom nutrition research to health professionals (phase 2) (MU14000)

What was it all about?

This project, which ran from 2014 into 2017, collected research findings and information on the health and nutrition benefits of mushrooms and communicated it to a range of health professionals who are in a position to influence the community more broadly.

The team…

• Showcased mushroom health benefits and research at industry conferences and events attended by health audiences, as well as the journals and other publications of professional health bodies. National conferences included those of the Dietitians Association of Australia, Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, Australian Practice Nurses Association, CheckUP, Diabetes SA and Home Economics Institute of Australia. There was also involvement in events including the General Practice Conference and Exhibition, Dietitian Day, and the Australian College of Nursing’s Community and Primary Health Care Nursing Week.
  
  
• Utilised the ‘health and nutrition’ section of australianmushrooms.com.au, where resources such as fact sheets were kept up to date with peer-reviewed research. The project also produced video resources, also hosted here.
  
  
• Produced an e-newsletter, Talking Research, which was sent at regular intervals to a database of more than 1300 subscribers and highlighted the most recent health-oriented mushroom research.
  
  
• Produced resources including a succinct brochure on the benefits of mushrooms for health professionals, which was distributed in printed and digital form and made available for health associations to distribute to their members and contacts. There was also a handout on healthy bones – focusing on mushrooms as a vitamin D source – for use by health professionals, and a handout on mushrooms and weight control for the general public that was designed as part of Australia’s Healthy Weight Week activity.
  
  
• Facilitated farm tours, cooking demonstrations and food styling sessions for dietitians, nutrition students, food media, bloggers and academics, to educate them and, in turn, the public.
  
  
• Supplied resources for use by health authorities, including technical papers.

Throughout the project, the team responded to requests for help from dietitians, bloggers, journalists and researchers regarding the role of mushrooms in health as needed, providing information and content for their channels.

There was also support for Australia’s Healthy Weight Week, an initiative of the Dietitian’s Association of Australia that each year involved events throughout the country. Health professionals were provided with social media updates to share regarding the health benefits of mushrooms, and mushrooms featured in Healthy Weight Week cookbooks. Likewise, there was support for Nutrition Australia’s National Nutrition Week.

The project also fed into the Mushrooms and Health Global Initiative, an international collaboration that produced a quarterly bulletin to alert growers, mushroom associations, health professionals and researchers about newly published research and health-focused promotional activities. The last bulletin was produced in 2016.

ACT NOW

Visit the Australian Mushrooms website to see current health and nutrition resources.