Rapid Ethnonutrition Assessment Method Is Useful to Prototype Dietary Assessments with a Focus on Local Biodiverse Food Plants

Qualitative research explores complex phenomena encountered by clinicians, health care providers, policy makers and consumers. Although partial checklists are available, no consolidated reporting framework exists for any type of qualitative design. To develop a checklist for explicit and comprehensive reporting of qualitative studies (in depth interviews and focus groups). We performed a comprehensive search in Cochrane and Campbell Protocols, Medline, CINAHL, systematic reviews of qualitative studies, author or reviewer guidelines of major medical journals and reference lists of relevant publications for existing checklists used to assess qualitative studies. Seventy-six items from 22 checklists were compiled into a comprehensive list. All items were grouped into three domains: (i) research team and reflexivity, (ii) study design and (iii) data analysis and reporting. Duplicate items and those that were ambiguous, too broadly defined and impractical to assess were removed. Items most frequently included in the checklists related to sampling method, setting for data collection, method of data collection, respondent validation of findings, method of recording data, description of the derivation of themes and inclusion of supporting quotations. We grouped all items into three domains: (i) research team and reflexivity, (ii) study design and (iii) data analysis and reporting. The criteria included in COREQ, a 32-item checklist, can help researchers to report important aspects of the research team, study methods, context of the study, findings, analysis and interpretations.

The US Department of Agriculture Automated Multiple-Pass Method (AMPM) is used for collecting 24-h dietary recalls in What We Eat In America, the dietary interview component of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Because the data have important program and policy applications, it is essential that the validity of the method be tested. The accuracy of the AMPM was evaluated by comparing reported energy intake (EI) with total energy expenditure (TEE) by using the doubly labeled water (DLW) technique. The 524 volunteers, aged 30-69 y, included an equal number of men and women recruited from the Washington, DC, area. Each subject was dosed with DLW on the first day of the 2-wk study period; three 24-h recalls were collected during the 2-wk period by using the AMPM. The first recall was conducted in person, and subsequent recalls were over the telephone. Overall, the subjects underreported EI by 11% compared with TEE. Normal-weight subjects [body mass index (in kg/m(2)) 30). Although the AMPM accurately reported EIs in normal-weight subjects, research is warranted to enhance its accuracy in overweight and obese persons.