Question 3
This research study provides an opportunity for
future development. A prospect study mentioned involves assessing whether
clients who no longer obtain low nutrient items, such as soda and candy, from
food pantries purchase replacement or just decrease their consumption. How
would you develop this study? How would you measure consumption?
posted by Anonymous @ 2:23 PM
20 comments
20 Comments:
I think it would be appropriate to have clients fill out a food frequency questioniarre before policies were implemented and after to assess the patterns in consumption of these items. Consumption could be measured based off of the number of cans of soda consumed. For example, categories could be 0-2/day, 3-5/day, 6+/day for families (or how many 8 oz glasses). Candy could be measured in a similiar fashion. The food frequency questioniarre would also reflect whether these items have been eliminated and if so, what is being purchased in place.
This would be a hard study to complete because you would have to rely on surveys most likely. I would create a survey that asked how often they buy certain items that are worth tracking and then compile this into categories of 0-1, 1-2,2-3 low nutrient choices purchased on their own. Before giving them this survey I would explain that answers would not impact their ability to get food at the pantry as I can see that some clients would think that it may.
I agree that a food frequency questionnaire approach would be the best way to determine how food choices compare from time A to time B. It would also be interesting to see why they are eating differently, and that could be assessed by including some questions about whether they have had access to nutrition education, a health scare, better access to nutritious food, etc.
For the prospected study mentioned in the research, I would interview each person and have them do a 24-hour recall. I wouldn't tell them what the research was for before hand in order to get the most reliable information. I would ask them about their consumption in general but only ask them to be specific regarding what they ate the day before.
In order to measure consumption I would take the survey route and divide food items as per food groups. I would use Multiple Choice Questions to assess where individuals get the food from: 1) Pantry 2) Dollar stores 3) Other grocery stores 4) Dont buy at all. Further I would create and use simple pie charts to observe consumption patterns.
I prefer the food frequency questionnaire pre- and post-policy implementation. I think that this measure will provide the most accurate picture of low-nutrient items. Determining the place of procurement (i.e., food bank, discount store, etc.) is also important.
This would be very interesting. I went on a home visit yesterday with an EFNEP employee and I was helping the woman fill out her food recall. She heavily relies on government money for food (WIC, SNAP) and donated foods and she had mentioned drinking two bottles of Pepsi the day before. I couldn't figure out how she had paid for it. I think this would be such an interesting study. I think you would have to rely on surveys and even that would be pretty unreliable but it would be a start. I would ask:
how often it is purchased (every week, every day...)
how much is purchased at a time
how often it is consumed
How often the person receives the food/beverage as donations
I think this survey would have to be filled out with a trained person helping. I had to walk the lady through the food recall yesterday and even as I was telling her where to write it all she still did not fill it out correctly. This would improve accuracy.
Teju,
Brilliant idea. Again, I think we tend to forget how little people know. Starting with the basics (e.g. the food groups and what they provide for us) is an excellent strategy. Providing a MyPlate handout during the tour would be another way of reiterating the information and helping them interpret it in terms of their eating patterns.
I agree that a FFQ would be a good route for measuring consumption with a pre and post evaluation of how the participants changed over time. Finding out where they are obtaining their food items is important too especially if the participants just started buying soda and candy from a convenience store instead of the food pantry.
As I discussed in question 1, I feel it is important to get client feedback on how these policies will affect their food choices. I think a mixed-method study would be helpful if the funding were available for it. I would interview clients on how a "no-junk" policy does or would affect them, including whether they buy these items elsewhere, the role that certain food items play in their life (eg. keeping their families happy), whether the policy has affected their attitudes toward healthy and junk foods, and other similar feedback that I don't think a survey would get as in-depth. For the quantitative portion, I would administer a food frequency questionnaire with options they have chosen both before a junk ban and after a junk ban, with how many times a week they purchase or consume foods like soda or candy versus fruits and vegetables.
Sarah S. said...
It would probably be most appropriate to use surveys for this type of study, at least in order to find out the amount of consumption. I would likewise assess how much was consumed before and after using a food frequency questionnaire. However, I would also like to design short a survey to find out their attitudes towards eating healthy foods, i.e. asking if nutrition is an important factor in their food choices, and also asking whether they think enough healthy options are available. Also, asking whether or not availability impacts their choices, and in what way.
I think that a food frequency would be the most practical and convenient way to do the study. However I do feel as though an interview might be a more accurate way to collect data if it is a feasible depending on the number of people. I will agree with finding out where they get their foods from would be vital to the study.
I think this study would be very interesting but the results would be somewhat unreliable due to use of food frequency questionnaires and surveys. However, I think if you survey the participants before any policy is implemented and kept the post surveys broad enough that they wouldn't feel like they had to fudge their answers, it would be very beneficial information.
Carly Johnson said...
I would have the clients do a 24 hr food log (the best they could), do an inventory of their cabinets and fridge/freezer, and keep all their food receipts. This would be done all before I hand them a survey/FFQ so they can be more accurate on their answers since they have given it some thought. I liked Teju's idea on giving multiple choice questions as to where they bought their replacements from. Other categories would be for frequency, for instance: 0-1/d, 2-3/d, 4-5/d, and 6+/d. I would feel better conducting this study after a little bit of nutrition education has been done with the clients. So I would do this first.
As many have stated, I think a food frequency questionnaire would be the simplest approach. In addition to how often clients consumed different types of foods I would want to ask where they obtained those foods. I agree with those that mention people may not necessarily have the knowledge to appropriately categorize. The questionnaire would need to be carefully designed and provide examples of foods in each group appropriate to the audience.
If possible, I would try to find a food pantry that would soon be changing their policies on distribution of unhealthy products. I would do a food frequency questionnaire before the change and then a few months after. This way it would be possible to see if the change in diet was influenced by the food pantries halt in unhealthy food distribution. Of course if multiple food banks were known to be making the change, it would be best to access all of them instead of just one.
I agree with Aria. It would be important to get feedback from the food pantry patrons on their thoughts about the change in food distribution. Knowing how it affects them, how eating habits have changed, and if they are having to purchase items elsewhere would shed more light on the direct effects of the policy change.
Interviewing the participants before and after the implementation of policy. A food frequency questionnaire would be beneficial to determine the consumption pre- and post- as well as interviewing them to determine their means of obtaining these type of items along with the items that may be taking the place of these items on a weekly or more frequent basis.
I agree that it would also be important to gather information about where the participant obtain the foods they eat.
I also agree with Aria as far as involving the food bank patrons. They know their shelves and they would notice the shift in foods that are more popular than others.
I think this would be a very interesting study to see results from, but a very difficult study to create and implement. I, like most others, think a food frequency before and after would be the best way to get results. In a perfect world it would also be interesting to examine everyone's grocery receipts to see exactly how they are spending their money.
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