Earline Strickland

Validity of a Telephone-Administered 24-Hour Dietary Recall in Telephone and Non-Telephone Households in the Rural Lower Mississippi Delta Region

OBJECTIVE To determine if 24-hour dietary recall data are influenced by whether data are collected by telephone or face-to-face interviews in telephone and non-telephone households. DESIGN Dual sampling frame of telephone and non-telephone households. In telephone households, participants completed a 24-hour dietary recall either by face-to-face interview or telephone interview. In non-telephone households, participants completed a 24-hour dietary recall either by face-to-face interview or by using a cellular telephone provided by a field interviewer. SUBJECTS/SETTING Four hundred nine participants from the rural Delta region of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Mean energy and protein intakes. STATISTICAL ANALYSES PERFORMED Comparison of telephone and non-telephone households, controlling for type of interview, and comparison of telephone and face-to-face interviews in each household type using unpaired t tests and linear regression, adjusting for gender, age, and body mass index. RESULTS Mean differences between telephone and face-to-face interviews for telephone households were -171 kcal (P = 0.1) and -6.9 g protein (P = 0.2), and for non-telephone households -143 kcal (P = 0.6) and 0.4 g protein (P = 1.0). Mean differences between telephone and non-telephone households for telephone interviews were 0 kcal (P = 1.0) and -0.9 g protein (P = 0.9), and for face-to-face interviews 28 kcal (P = 0.9) and 6.4 g protein (P = 0.5). Findings persisted when adjusted for gender, age, and body mass index. No statistically significant differences were detected for mean energy or protein intake between telephone and face-to-face interviews or between telephone and non-telephone households. APPLICATIONS/CONCLUSIONS These data provide support that telephone surveys adequately describe energy and protein intakes for a rural, low-income population.

Perceptions of Factors Influencing Healthful Food Consumption Behavior in the Lower Mississippi Delta: Focus Group Findings

OBJECTIVE To identify perceptions of Lower Mississippi Delta (LMD) residents regarding factors that influence a change in healthful food consumption behavior to assist in planning sustainable nutrition interventions in the LMD. DESIGN Nine focus groups were conducted with LMD residents in 9 counties in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. One focus group was held in each county on the topical area of behavioral change. SETTING Nine counties in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. PARTICIPANTS The study population included 91 persons, 85 females and 6 males (18-60+ years of age), of whom 71 were African Americans, 17 were Caucasians, and 3 were Hispanics, who participated in the focus group discussions. ANALYSIS Data analyses were completed by general and specific content coding. Data were reviewed for emerging themes for each topic. The Social Cognitive Theory served as the framework for understanding the determinants of a change in healthful food consumption behavior. RESULTS The study showed considerable variability in perceptions that are influenced by both personal and external factors. These factors include health concerns, family influence, and need for and availability of nutrition information. Participants were interested in learning about healthful eating, food preparation skills, and portion control. CONCLUSIONS Focus groups in the LMD identified many important themes relevant to the development of nutrition interventions in these communities. These data will be used to guide the community-based participatory interventions that will be developed and implemented in the LMD. The findings could be applicable to other researchers designing interventions for similar populations.

Development and evaluation of WillTry. An instrument for measuring children's willingness to try fruits and vegetables ☆

This paper describes the development and evaluation of the WillTry instrument, a psychometric tool designed to measure childrens willingness to try fruits and vegetables. WillTry surveys were interviewer-administered to 284 children in an elementary school and summer day camps located in rural Mississippi and Arkansas (United States) communities. Factor analysis was used to determine construct dimensionality. Additional evaluation included internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and predictive validity. Factor analysis suggested a single dimension for the food items. The WillTry food scale had substantial reliability (intraclass correlation coefficients between 0.61 and 0.80) and sufficient internal consistency (Cronbachs alpha > or = 0.70). Results of the regression analysis for percent consumption of foods offered on WillTry response confirmed the predictive validity of the instrument. The results of these analyses provide psychometric evidence for the use of the WillTry instrument as a measure of willingness to try fruits and vegetables in rural, southern US children 5-14 years of age.

Capacity Building for Health Through Community-Based Participatory Nutrition Intervention Research in Rural Communities

Since its inception, capacity building has been a stated goal of the Delta Nutrition Intervention Research Initiative, a tri-state collaboration in the Lower Mississippi Delta to address high rates of chronic disease. Textual analysis of project documents identifies and describes strategies carried out to foster capacity building. Strategies to build community capacity include fostering participation, cultivating leadership opportunities, training community members as co-researchers, securing community resources, and implementing the intervention together. Incorporating capacity-building approaches in health promotion and nutrition-intervention programming in rural communities provides a means to enhance potential for sustainability of health outcomes and developed effectiveness.