Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Objective
To (i) describe the adaptation of the Short Food Survey (SFS) for assessing the dietary intake of children (2-5 years) during attendance at Early Childhood Education and Care (SFS-ECEC); (ii) determine the acceptability and feasibility of the SFS-ECEC; and (iii) compare the SFS-ECEC to direct observations for assessing dietary intake of children in care.Design
The adapted forty-seven-item SFS-ECEC was completed by childcare educators to capture individual child's usual intake over the past month. Acceptability and feasibility were assessed via educator self-report and completion rates. Mean servings of food groups consumed in accordance with dietary guidelines reported in the SFS-ECEC were compared to those obtained by a single-day direct observation via visual estimation conducted by trained personnel. Mean differences, intra-class correlations, Bland-Altman plots, percentage agreement and Cohen's ? were examined.Setting
Early Childhood Education and Care, NSW, Australia.Participants
Educators and children.Results
213 (98·61 %) SFS-ECECs were returned. Acceptability was high with 86·54 % of educators reporting the tool as easy to understand. Mean differences in servings of food groups between the SFS-ECEC and direct observation were statistically significantly different for five out of six foods and ranged 0·08-1·07, with intra-class correlations ranging 0·00-0·21. Agreement between the methods in the classification of children meeting or not meeting dietary guidelines ranged 42·78-93·01 %, with Cohen's ? ranging -0·03 to 0·14.Conclusions
The SFS-ECEC is acceptable and feasible for completion by childcare educators. While tool refinement and further validation is warranted, small mean differences suggest the tool may be useful in estimating group-level intakes.
SUBMITTER: Grady A
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7196734 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Grady Alice A Fielding Alison A Golley Rebecca K RK Finch Meghan M Hendrie Gilly A GA Burrows Tracy T Seward Kirsty K Lecathelinais Christophe C Yoong Sze Lin SL
Public health nutrition 20200317 9
<h4>Objective</h4>To (i) describe the adaptation of the Short Food Survey (SFS) for assessing the dietary intake of children (2-5 years) during attendance at Early Childhood Education and Care (SFS-ECEC); (ii) determine the acceptability and feasibility of the SFS-ECEC; and (iii) compare the SFS-ECEC to direct observations for assessing dietary intake of children in care.<h4>Design</h4>The adapted forty-seven-item SFS-ECEC was completed by childcare educators to capture individual child's usual ...[more]