Development and Reliability Testing of a Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire for Australian Children (the CNK-AU)

Nienke de Vlieger; Nicholas Riley; Andrew Miller; Clare Collins; Tamara Bucher

doi:10.1016/j.jneb.2021.10.004

Development and Reliability Testing of a Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire for Australian Children (the CNK-AU)

J Nutr Educ Behav. 2022 Apr;54(4):335-345. doi: 10.1016/j.jneb.2021.10.004. Epub 2022 Jan 19.

Authors

Nienke de Vlieger¹, Nicholas Riley², Andrew Miller³, Clare Collins⁴, Tamara Bucher⁵

Affiliations

¹ College of Engineering, Science and Environment, School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Ourimbah, New South Wales, Australia; Priority Research Centre in Physical Activity and Nutrition, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia. Electronic address: nienke.devlieger@newcastle.edu.au.
² Priority Research Centre in Physical Activity and Nutrition, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia; College of Human and Social Futures, School of Education, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia.
³ College of Human and Social Futures, School of Education, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia; Teachers and Teaching Research Centre, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia.
⁴ Priority Research Centre in Physical Activity and Nutrition, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia; College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing, School of Health Sciences, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia.
⁵ College of Engineering, Science and Environment, School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Ourimbah, New South Wales, Australia; Priority Research Centre in Physical Activity and Nutrition, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia.

PMID: 35065892
DOI: 10.1016/j.jneb.2021.10.004

Abstract

Objective: To adapt and test an existing questionnaire to assess Australian children's level of nutrition knowledge.

Design: The child nutrition knowledge questionnaire for Australian children consists of 8 nutrition-related categories: healthy choices, portion and serving sizes, balanced meals, nutrition labels, nutrient functions, and food sources, safety, and categories. Participants completed the questionnaire at 2 time points, with 1 week in between.

Setting: The questionnaire was completed online in a primary school classroom using an Android tablet.

Participants: Fifth- and sixth-year students (n = 94; aged 10.9 years; SD, 0.76) at a primary school in New South Wales, Australia.

Variables measured: Item difficulty, item discrimination, and reliability.

Analysis: Item analysis, interrater reliability, and test-retests.

Results: The intrarater reliability per item between the first visit and 1 week later was moderate to substantial for the majority of items (mean κ = 0.50; SD, 0.21). Test-retest found a significant correlation for total score (r = 0.756), with all categories except portion and serving sizes showing significant correlations above r = 0.502.

Conclusions and implications: The child nutrition knowledge questionnaire for Australian children has the potential to be a reliable and practical questionnaire for measuring Australian children's nutrition knowledge. The questionnaire may be useful for future work evaluating the effectiveness of nutrition education interventions and would potentially be adapted to other cultures.

Keywords: Australia; child; knowledge; nutrition; surveys and questionnaires.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

Australia
Child
Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena*
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice*
Humans
Reproducibility of Results
Surveys and Questionnaires