Prompting Methods affect the Accuracy of Children's School Lunch Recalls
Section snippets
Sample
The Human Assurance Committee at the Medical College of Georgia approved the study. Children were recruited from all 10 first-grade classes and all 8 fourth-grade classes from 2 elementary schools in Richmond County, Ga, during spring 1997. Children at the schools were of predominantly lower- to middle-socioeconomic status; 72% to 79% were eligible to receive free or reduced-price lunches during the data collection period. Approximately 68% of the children returned signed assent and parental
Length of Interviews
Interviews with first-graders ranged in length from 5 to 12 minutes with a mean and median of 8 minutes. With fourth-graders, interviews ranged in length from 4 to 11 minutes with a mean and median of 6 minutes. Interview length averaged 7, 8, and 9 minutes for the 16 first-graders in each of the preference, food category, and visual prompting groups, and 6,6, and 7 minutes for the 16 fourth-graders in each of the respective prompting groups.
Inaccuracy Before Specific Prompting and After Specific Prompting
The Table provides descriptive information regarding recall
Discussion
Dietary assessment methods typically include prompting to help people recall what they ate, but research validating the effects of prompting on the accuracy of dietary recalls against non-self–report methods is scarce. The first purpose of this study was achieved as children in both grades appeared responsive to different prompts.
The second purpose of this study was achieved as well. Before specific prompting, first-graders were more inaccurate than were fourth-graders. After specific
Applications
■ Among first-graders, specific prompting (either preference, food category, or visual) may hurt more than help recall accuracy. Among fourth-graders, food category prompting yields small gains in recall accuracy with minimal losses.
■ Validation studies are needed to determine which prompting methods produce the most accurate dietary recalls from children of various socioeconomic status groups, other racial/ethnic groups, and at other meals.
■ Dietetics practitioners need to know how to prompt
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