Considerations for Evaluation of Fruit and Vegetable Intakein Low-Literate Spanish-Speaking Participants in USDA Food andNutrition Education Programs

摘要

Rates of obesity and associated chronic disease are high in Hispanics inthe United States. Nutrition education interventions promoting dietarychange in underserved populations have been shown to have positiveeffects on behaviors such as fruit and vegetable (FV) intake, therebyreducing the chronic disease burden. Evaluation tools in the Spanishlanguage to assess the dietary behavior changes made in response tothe intervention are important in determining the success of suchefforts. Currently, there are no Spanish-language tools focusedexclusively on FV intake and behaviors that include features toenhance readability for use in low-literacy participants of USDepartment of Agriculture (USDA) food assistance and educationprograms. There is a need for such tools to determine the degree towhich programs are able to promote behavior change. In designing thesetools, researchers should take into account potential issues that mayarise when administered. For example, respondents may have difficultyestimating consumption for mixed dishes and vegetables added to food.To address such issues, researchers should employ strategies to assistrespondents to understand what constitutes FV and appropriatelyidentify amount consumed. Addition of images to tools or developmentof accompanying instruction guides may be helpful. Once developed andtested, such scales may be used with Spanish-speaking participants ofUSDA food assistance and education programs aimed at improving FVbehaviors and ultimately, intake.