GRETCHEN SWANSON CENTER FOR NUTRITION'S ROLE:
Below are several examples of the Center’s survey expertise:
FRESH Foods Survey and Cognitive Testing
With funding through a Nutrition and Obesity Policy Research and Evaluation Network (NOPREN) grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Gretchen Swanson Center worked with Dr. Hilary Seligman at the University of California San Francisco and Feeding America to develop a national survey to measure the attitudes, perceptions and dietary intake patterns of food bank/pantry clients. Constructs and behaviors were identified for inclusion in the survey, and a draft survey with validated items was created. Cognitive testing with food pantry clients ensured questions were written and interpreted in the way they were intended. After revision, the survey was pilot tested with food pantry clients before psychometric analyses using both Item Response Theory and Classical Test Theory metrics were used to understand how well the items and scales performed from a quantitative perspective. After revisions, one more pilot test occurred to assess sensitivity to change. The final version can be used in whole or in its modular components.
Calloway, E.E., Seligman, H.K., Boyd, L.W., Stern, K.L., Rosenmoss, S., & Yaroch, A. Development and testing of the FRESH foods survey to assess food pantry clients’ dietary behaviors and correlates. Public Health Nutrition. 2019 May 21:1-9. Doi: 10.1017/S1368980019000697.
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Cooking Matters Survey
The Gretchen Swanson Center provided survey design and cognitive testing for the Cooking Matters for Adults survey (see second citation below). In 2017, the Gretchen Swanson Center designed a short survey that was embedded within the Cooking Matters mobile application, which aimed to help low-income app users make positive changes with regard to their food resource management and making meals at home. Surveys were administered prior to first use of the app, and again one month later, and included questions derived from existing validated and modified items, as well as newly developed items based on concepts of the Theory of Planned Behavior and Motivational Interviewing. Data collected was analyzed alongside interviews of app users and was used to enhance the ability to describe how the app facilitates positive changes and make meaningful recommendations. Results have been published in Public Health Nutrition.
Garvin, T.M., Chiappone, A.C., Boyd, L.W., Stern, K., Panichelli, J., Edwards Hall, L.A., & Yaroch, A.L. Cooking matters mobile application: a meal planning and preparation tool for low-income parents. Public Health Nutrition. 2019 May 14:1-8. Doi: 10.1017/S1368980019001101.
Parks, Courtney & Uvena, Laura & Quam, Julia & Garvin, Teresa & Yaroch, Amy. (2015). Development and Testing of a Revised Cooking Matters for Adults Survey. American Journal of Health Behavior. 39. 866-873. 10.5993/AJHB.39.6.14.
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FLASHE Survey and Analysis
The Family Life, Activity, Sun, Health, and Eating (FLASHE) Study is a National Cancer Institute (NCI) survey on the psychosocial, generational (parent-adolescent) and environmental correlates of cancer preventive behaviors. Executive Director Dr. Amy Yaroch aided on the development of the survey when she was a Program Director at NCI, and in 2014 and 2015, the Gretchen Swanson Center analyzed the dietary-related aspects of the FLASHE Survey data, specifically by contributing to the development of scoring procedures to derive dietary outcome variables via three approaches: (1) estimating intake of certain food groups and nutrients, (2) calculating daily frequency of intake of FLASHE items and certain food groups, and (3) determining dietary pattern adherence scores.Data collected, as well as variables derived by the Gretchen Swanson Center, are available via a public use dataset and serve as a resource to the research community. More information on the FLASHE study is available here.
Imoisili, O.E., Park, S., Lundeen, E.A., Yaroch, A.L., & Blanck, H.M. Daily adolescent sugar-sweetened beverage intake is associated with select adolescent, not parent, attitudes about limiting sugary drink and junk food intake. American Journal of Health Promotion. 2019 Aug 13:890117119868382. doi: 10.1177/0890117119868382. [Epub ahead of print]
Nebeling, L.C., Hennessy, E.M., Oh, A.Y., Dwyer, L., Patrick, H., Blanck, H.M., Perna, F., Ferrer, R., & Yaroch, A.L. The FLASHE Study: Survey development, dyadic perspectives, and participant characteristics. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2017 Jun;52(6): 839-48. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2017.01.028.
Oh, A.Y., Davis, T., Dwyer, L., Hennessy, E.M., Li, T., Yaroch, A.L., & Nebeling, L.C. Recruitment, enrollment, and response of parent-Adolescent dyads in the FLASHE Study. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2017 Jun;52(6):849-855. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2016.11.028.
Parks, C.A., Blaser, C., Smith, T.M., Calloway, E.E., Oh, A.Y., Dwyer, L.A., Liu, B., Nebeling, L.C., & Yaroch, A.L. Correlates of fruit and vegetable intake among parents and adolescents: Findings from the Family Life, Activity, Sun, Health and Eating (FLASHE) study. Public Health Nutrition. 2018 Aug;21(11):2079-2087. doi: 10.1017/S1368980018000770.
Smith, T.M., Calloway, E.E., Pinard, C.A., Hennessy, E.M., Oh, A.Y., Nebeling, L.C., & Yaroch, A.L. Using secondary 24-hour dietary recall data to estimate daily dietary factor intake from the Family Life, Activity, Sun, Health, and Eating (FLASHE) Study dietary screener. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2017 Jun;52(6): 856-62. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2017.01.015.
Thai, C.L., Serrano, K.J., Yaroch, A.L., Nebeling, L., & Oh, A. Perceptions of food advertising and association with consumption of energy-dense nutrient-poor foods among adolescents in the United States: Results from a national survey. Journal of Health Communication. 2017 Aug;22(8):638-646. doi: 10.1080/10810730.2017.1339145. Epub 2017 Jul 28.
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FAB Survey
Executive Director Dr. Amy Yaroch served as scientific lead on the development and implementation of the Food Attitudes and Behaviors (FAB) Survey while she was a Program Director at the NCI. FAB measures attitudes and beliefs, general health, shopping, fruit and vegetable consumption, eating behaviors, physical activity, sedentary behaviors and food preferences.
Erinosho, T.O., Moser, R.P., Oh, A.Y., Nebeling, L., & Yaroch, A.L. Awareness of the Fruits and Veggies – More Matters campaign, knowledge of the fruit and vegetable recommendation, and fruit and vegetable intake of adults in the 2007 Food Attitudes and Behaviors (FAB) Survey. Appetite. 2012 Aug;59(1):155-60. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2012.04.010. Epub 2012 Apr 21.
Erinosho, T.O., Oh, A.Y., Moser, R.P., Davis, K.L., Nebeling, L.C., & Yaroch, A.L. Association between perceived food environment and self-efficacy for fruit and vegetable consumption among US adults, 2007. Preventing Chronic Disease. 2012;9:E10. Epub 2011 Dec 15.
Erinosho, T.O., Pinard, C.A., Nebeling, L.C., Moser, R.P., Shaikh, A.R., & Yaroch, A.L. Development and implementation of the National Cancer Institute’s Food Attitudes and Behaviors Survey to assess correlates of fruit and vegetable intake in adults. PloS One. 2015 Feb 23;10(2):e0115017. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0115017. eCollection 2015.
Goodman, A.B., Blanck, H.M., Sherry, B., Park, S., Nebeling, L. & Yaroch, A.L. Behaviors and attitudes associated with low drinking water intake among US adults, Food Attitudes and Behaviors Survey, 2007. Preventing Chronic Disease. 2013 Apr 11;10:E51. doi: 10:5888/pcd10.120248.
Yaroch, A.L., Tooze, J., Thompson, F.E., Blanck, H.M., Thompson, O.M., Colón-Ramos, U., Shaikh, A., McNutt, S., & Nebeling, L.C. Evaluation of three short dietary instruments to assess fruit and vegetable intake: The National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Food Attitudes and Behaviors (FAB) Survey. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. 2012 Oct;112(10):1570-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jand.2012.06.002.
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Feeding America Library of Measures
The Gretchen Swanson Center conducted a systematic literature review to inform the development of a library of measures for Feeding America. This library allows Feeding America and their partners to strengthen their data collection capacity, monitor sociodemographic profiles of people seeking assistance and measure the impact of their work. Gretchen Swanson Center staff examined Feeding America’s current surveys and measures, assessed relevant gaps in measures, systematically reviewed literature for validated measures that meet Feeding America’s inclusion and exclusion criteria, searched gray literature to seek measures unpublished in peer-reviewed literature and then included those measures and accompanying documentation in a library of measures.