Abstract
Citation
Ward D, Hales D, Haverly K, Marks J, Benjamin S, Ball S, Trost S. An instrument to assess the obesogenic environment of child care centers. Am J Health Behav 2008 Jul-Aug;32(4):380-6.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To describe protocol and interobserver agreements of an instrument to evaluate nutrition and physical activity environments at child care. METHODS: Interobserver data were collected from 9 child care centers, through direct observation and document review (17 observer pairs). RESULTS: Mean agreement between observer pairs was 87.26% and 79.29% for the observation and document review, respectively. Items with lower agreement were primarily staff behavior, counting across the day/week, and policy classifications. CONCLUSIONS: Although some revisions are required, the interobserver agreement for the environment and policy assessment and observation (EPAO instrument) appears to be quite good for assessing the nutrition and physical activity environment of child care centers.
Full Text
The full text is available at https://dx.doi.org/10.5555/ajhb.2008.32.4.380
At A Glance
Food Environment Variables
| # | Type of Environment/Institution |
|---|---|
| 9 | Child Care (Daycare, Pre-school) |
| Measure | objective | perceived |
|---|---|---|
| Availability/Access | ✔ | ✘ |
| Food Quality | ✔ | ✘ |
| Marketing/Advertising/Promotion | ✔ | ✘ |
| Policy/Practice | ✔ | ✘ |
| Staff behaviors; Staff training; Curricula documents | ✔ | ✘ |
| Food Group/Type of Food |
|---|
| Fruits and vegetables |
| Low-fat dairy |
| Whole grains |
| Foods of minimal nutritional value |
| Sweetened beverages |
Physical Activity Environment Variables
| # | Type of Environment/Location |
|---|---|
| 9 | Child Care |
| # | Scale |
|---|---|
| 9 | Building |
| Measure | objective | perceived |
|---|---|---|
| Crime/Safety | ✔ | ✘ |
| Policy | ✔ | ✘ |
| Facility Adequacy/Appeal or Quality | ✔ | ✘ |
| Staff behaviors; Play equipment | ✔ | ✘ |
| Marketing/Advertising/Promotion | ✔ | ✘ |
Individual Dietary Behavior Variables
| Intake |
|---|
| Sweetened Beverages |
| 100% Juice |
| Fruits/Vegetables |
| Low-fat Dairy |
| Whole Grains/Fiber |
| Foods of Minimal Nutritional Value |
| Dietary Quality |
| Dietary Variety |
| Water |
| Meat/fish/poultry/eggs |
| Low-fat foods other than dairy |
| Behavior |
|---|
| Meal/Snack Patterns |
| Eating/Snacking Frequency |
| Portion/Size |
Domain(s)
Food Environment
Physical Activity Environment
Individual Dietary Behavior
Measure Type
Environmental observation
document review
Measure Availability
Free. Contact contact primary author at dsward@email.unc.edu
Number of Items
192 Reported
Study location
NC, USA
Child care centers throughout NC
Languages
English
Information about Development of Measure
The EPAO was pilot tested by 3 field observers over one day in a local child care center.
Study Design
Study Participants
Age
2 - 5 Years
Sex
Not applicable
Race/Ethnicity
White
Non-white
Predominantly Low-income/Low-SES
No
Sample Size
Not Available
Study Design
Design Type
Validation/Reliability
Health Outcomes Assessed
None
Obesity Measures
Not applicable
BMI Measured or Self-reported
Not applicable
Covariates
Not reported
Data Reported on Race/Ethnicity
Quantitative data on study sample
Data Reported on SES
Not applicable
SES-related Variables
Not applicable
How To Use
Administration
Who Administered
Researcher-administered
How Administered
In-person
Time Required
Not reported
Training Required
Yes, time reported: 1 day intensive workshop
Instructions on Use
Contact contact primary author at dsward@email.unc.edu
Data Analysis
Data Collection/Analysis Costs
Not available
Data Collection/Protocol
Not available
Instructions on Data Analysis
Not reported
Validity (0)
There are no validity tests reported for this measure.
Reliability (3)
| Type of reliability | Construct/subscale assessed | Test/statistic used | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inter-rater | EPAO observation items | Percent agreement | Mean percent agreement between observer pairs= 87.28% (SD=4.21) |
| Inter-rater | EPAO document review items | Percent agreement | Mean percent agreement between observer pairs=79.29% (SD=7.43) |
| Inter-rater | EPAO subscale scores | Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) | Range -0.045 to 0.968 |