Validation of the e-NutLit, an Electronic Tool to Assess Nutrition Literacy

Janet Franklin; Cheyenne Holman; Ryan Tam; Janelle Gifford; Tania Prvan; Wendy Stuart-Smith; Gareth Denyer; Tania Markovic; Helen O'Connor

doi:10.1016/j.jneb.2019.10.008

Validation of the e-NutLit, an Electronic Tool to Assess Nutrition Literacy

J Nutr Educ Behav. 2020 Jun;52(6):607-614. doi: 10.1016/j.jneb.2019.10.008. Epub 2019 Nov 27.

Authors

Janet Franklin¹, Cheyenne Holman², Ryan Tam³, Janelle Gifford⁴, Tania Prvan⁵, Wendy Stuart-Smith², Gareth Denyer⁶, Tania Markovic⁷, Helen O'Connor⁸

Affiliations

¹ Metabolism and Obesity Services, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Electronic address: janet.franklin@health.nsw.gov.au.
² School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, The University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia.
³ Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia.
⁴ Faculty of Health Sciences, Cumberland Campus, The University of Sydney, Lidcombe, New South Wales, Australia.
⁵ Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
⁶ School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, The University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
⁷ Metabolism and Obesity Services, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia; The Boden Collaboration for Obesity, Nutrition, Exercise and Eating Disorders, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
⁸ Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia; Faculty of Health Sciences, Cumberland Campus, The University of Sydney, Lidcombe, New South Wales, Australia.

PMID: 31786068
DOI: 10.1016/j.jneb.2019.10.008

Abstract

Objective: To validate an electronic nutrition literacy assessment tool (e-NutLit).

Design: Cross-sectional.

Setting: An Australian teaching hospital obesity clinic (clinical cohort) and university (dietetic cohort).

Participants: A convenience sample of patients with obesity (body mass index > 35 kg m^-2) (obese participants [OP]) and dietetic interns (DI).

Interventions: The e-NutLit was administered to OP and scores were compared with performance on the Newest Vital Sign and e-NutLit scores of the DI to establish construct validity. A subset of OP completed the e-NutLit again to examine instrument temporal stability. Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach α.

Main outcome measures: Construct validity, temporal stability, and internal consistency.

Analysis: Parametric and nonparametric tests and general linear modeling were used as appropriate.

Results: A total of 103 participants completed the study (OP: n = 59; 64.4% female; DI: n = 44; 86.4% female). Newest Vital Sign and e-NutLit scores were significantly and positively associated (r_s = 0.66; P <.001). The DI performed significantly better than the OP (OP: 59.7 ± 13.1 percentage points; DI: 83.9 ± 5.5 percentage points; P <.001), further supporting construct validity. The e-NutLit Cronbach α was >0.9 indicating a good level of internal consistency. The OP test and retest scores were not significantly different, supporting instrument temporal stability.

Conclusion and implications: The results support the validity of the e-NutLit, for both clinicians and researchers.

Keywords: electronic; health; knowledge; literacy; nutrition.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Health Education*
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Health Literacy*
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Nutritional Physiological Phenomena / physiology*
Obesity
Surveys and Questionnaires*
Young Adult