A Qualitative Investigation to Underpin the Development of an Electronic Tool to Assess Nutrition Literacy in Australian Adults

Abstract

Nutrition literacy is linked to health via its influence on dietary intake. There is a need for a tool to assess nutrition literacy in research and dietetic practice. We sought guidance from nutrition professionals on topic areas and features of an electronic nutrition literacy assessment tool for Australian adults. 28 experienced nutrition professionals engaged in a range of nutrition and dietetic work areas participated in six focus groups using a semi-structured interview schedule. Data were analysed using an inductive approach using NVivo 10 (QSR International, Pty Ltd., Doncaster, Australia, 2012). Key areas identified to assess nutrition literacy included specific nutrients versus foods, labels and packaging, construction of the diet, knowledge of the Australian Dietary Guidelines and Australian Guide to Healthy Eating, understanding of serve and portion sizes, ability to select healthier foods, and demographics such as belief systems and culture. Exploitation of electronic features to enhance visual and auditory displays, including interactive animations such as “drag and drop” and virtual reality situations, were discussed. This study provided insight into the most relevant topic areas and presentation format to assess the nutrition literacy of adult Australians. The visual, auditory, and interactive capacity of the available technology could enhance the assessment of nutrition literacy.

Towards the Implementation of a Conceptual Framework of Food and Nutrition Literacy: Providing Healthy Eating for the Population

“…Gibbs et al [32] also referred to the critical level of NL, defining the ability to navigate nutrition-related information. Palumbo [16], Liao and Lai [33], Lee et al [34], and Cassar et al [35] summarized the concept of NL, defining it as the capacity or knowledge and skills required for the selection of a healthy diet in everyday life.…”

“…NL definitions mostly involved nutritional information and individuals' capacity and interest in relation to accessing and using such information [5,[27][28][29][30][31][32] in order to maintain nutritional health [13,14,22]. Few definitions directly referred to the ability to select a healthy diet [16,[33][34][35], offering a more synthesized conceptualization of the dimension.…”

“…Cognitive and interpersonal communication skills enable adequately interacting with experts [13,14,31]. Palumbo [16], Liao and Lai [33], Lee et al [34], and Cassar et al [35] synthesized the NL concept to a greater degree and explained it as individuals' ability or knowledge aimed at choosing a healthful diet.…”

Evaluation of an electronic tool to assess food label literacy in adult Australians: A pilot study

“…The strengths of this study include the development of the e‐NutLit which was informed by dietitians, through focus groups . The comparison of the e‐NutLit with a validated, health literacy tool and use of a criterion group who scored highly on the e‐NutLit, further strengthens the results of this pilot study.…”

“…The items for inclusion on the e‐NutLit were informed by a focus group of 28 Australian dietetic professionals . Briefly, six telephone focus groups were conducted using semi‐structured interview schedules which were designed to ask about key elements required to assess nutrition literacy.…”