Methodology for Developing a New EFNEP Food and Physical Activity Behaviors Questionnaire.
OBJECTIVE
Research methods are described for developing a food and physical activity behaviors questionnaire for the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP), a US Department of Agriculture nutrition education program serving low-income families.


DESIGN
Mixed-methods observational study. The questionnaire will include 5 domains: (1) diet quality, (2) physical activity, (3) food safety, (4) food security, and (5) food resource management. A 5-stage process will be used to assess the questionnaire's test-retest reliability and content, face, and construct validity.


SETTING
Research teams across the US will coordinate questionnaire development and testing nationally.


PARTICIPANTS
Convenience samples of low-income EFNEP, or EFNEP-eligible, adult participants across the US.


INTERVENTIONS
A 5-stage process: (1) prioritize domain concepts to evaluate (2) question generation and content analysis panel, (3) question pretesting using cognitive interviews, (4) test-retest reliability assessment, and (5) construct validity testing.


MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE
A nationally tested valid and reliable food and physical activity behaviors questionnaire for low-income adults to evaluate EFNEP's effectiveness.


ANALYSIS
Cognitive interviews will be summarized to identify themes and dominant trends. Paired t tests (P ≤ .05) and Spearman and intra-class correlation coefficients (r > .5) will be conducted to assess reliability. Construct validity will be assessed using Wilcoxon t test (P ≤ .05), Spearman correlations, and Bland-Altman plots.
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D015444:Exercise D005247:Feeding Behavior D015438:Health Behavior D006266:Health Education D006306:Health Surveys D006801:Humans D009749:Nutrition Surveys D015203:Reproducibility of Results D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
EFNEP reliability validity evaluation food and physical activity questionnaire protocol