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There is no recent validated short food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for use in New Zealand (NZ) adults. This study aimed to evaluate the relative validity and reproducibility of a short FFQ in free-living NZ adults aged 30–59 years. A 57-item, semi-quantitative FFQ was developed and pre-tested. During a 12-month study period the FFQ was administrated twice with a 9-month interval between administrations. Four two-day diet records were collected at months 0, 3, 6, and 9 and a blood sample was taken at month 9. Spearman correlations were used to evaluate the validity of the FFQ with the eight-day diet records and selected biomarkers. Cross-classification analysis and the Bland–Altman method were used to assess the agreement between the FFQ and the diet record. Reproducibility over nine months was assessed using intra-class correlations. A total of 132 males and females completed both FFQs, the eight-day diet record, and provided a blood sample. The highest energy-adjusted correlation coefficients were observed for alcohol (0.81), cholesterol (0.61), and carbohydrate (0.61), with the lowest for sodium (0.29), thiamin (0.33), and niacin equivalents (0.34). More than three quarters of the participants were correctly classified into the same or adjacent quartile for most nutrients, with a low proportion of participants being grossly misclassified (<10%). For most nutrients, the limits of agreement from the Bland–Altman analyses were between 50% and 250%. A positive correlation was observed between dietary intakes and plasma biomarkers for all selected nutrients. The FFQ showed moderate to good reproducibility, with almost all reliability coefficients ranging from 0.60 to 0.80. This short FFQ was shown to validly and reliably rank individuals by their habitual intake of most major nutrients, indicating that the FFQ will offer a time-efficient way to assess the nutrient intake of NZ adults in future research.

BackgroundSocial media is gaining recognition as a platform for delivering public health messages. One area attracting attention from public health researchers and professionals is Facebook’s advertising channel. This channel is reported to have a broad reach and generate high user engagement with the disseminated campaign materials. However, to date, no study has examined the communication process via this channel which this study aimed to address.ObjectiveThe specific objectives of the study were to (1) examine user engagement for a public health campaign based on the metadata provided by Facebook, (2) analyze comments generated by the campaign materials using text mining, and (3) investigate the relationship between the themes identified in the comments and the message and the sentiments prevalent in the themes that exhibited significant relationships.MethodsThis study examined a New Zealand public health pilot campaign called “Don’t Know? Don’t Drink,” which warned against drinking alcohol during pregnancy. The campaign conveyed the warning through a video and three banner ads that were delivered as news feeds to women aged 18-30 years. Thematic analysis using text mining performed on the comments (n=819) identified four themes. Logistic regression was used to identify meaning-making themes that exhibited association with the message.ResultsThe users’ engagement was impressive with the video receiving 203,754 views. The combined likes and shares for the promotional materials (video and banner ads) amounted to 6125 and 300, respectively. The logistic regression analysis showed two meaning-making themes, namely, risk of pregnancy (P=.003) and alcohol and culture (P<.001) exhibited association with the message. The sentiment analysis carried out on the two themes revealed there were more negative than positive comments (47% vs 28%).ConclusionsThe user engagement observed in this study was consistent with previous research. The numbers reported for views, likes, and shares may be seen as unique interactions over the fixed period of the campaign; however, survey research would be required to find out the true evaluative worth of these metadata. A close examination of the comments, employing text mining, revealed that the message was not accepted by a majority of the target segment. Self-identity and conformity theories may help to explain these observed reactions, albeit warrant further investigations. Although the comments were predominantly negative, they provide opportunities to engage back with the women. The one-way communication format followed in this campaign did not support any two-way engagement. Further investigation is warranted to establish whether using a two-way communication format would have improved the acceptability of such public health messages delivered via social media. The findings of this study caution using a one-way communication format to convey public health messages via Facebook’s advertising channel.

Maternal alcohol or tobacco consumption may negatively impact the fetus and breastfeeding infants. Maternal tobacco consumption is also known to negatively affect exposed young children. The current study therefore aimed to assess the prevalence of these lifestyle behaviours in a sample of 6-24-months post-partum women and to elucidate socio-demographic and maternal factors associated with these behaviours. A community-based cross-sectional survey was conducted on 6-24-months post-partum women (n = 318) in three cities in the South Island of New Zealand. Self-reported data on current alcohol and tobacco consumption were collected from these women using a self-administered questionnaire. The results showed that nearly 72% and 23% of these women consumed alcohol and tobacco, respectively. Being Caucasian, having a higher level of education and higher household income were significant factors for alcohol consumption, while being of younger age and of lower educational status were significant factors for tobacco consumption. Pregnancy was associated with lower odds for alcohol consumption (0.07; P < 0.001), but not with lower odds for tobacco consumption. In contrast, breastfeeding was not associated with lower odds of alcohol consumption (0.08; P = 0.075). In conclusion, younger women with lower levels of education and household income must be targeted for public health education on the negative effects of tobacco consumption on their own health and on the health of their children.

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