CONSUMER-BASED COMPUTERIZED FOOD FREQUENCY QUESTIONNAIRE

THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY IS TO DEVELOP AND EVALUATE A CONSUMER-ADMINISTERED, COMPUTERIZED FOOD FREQUENCY QUESTIONNAIRE (CFFQ) FOR CONSUMERS. THE CFFQ WILL BE DESIGNED FOR EASY DATA ENTRY BY THE CONSUMER. DATA ENTRY WILL REQUIRE A MINIMUM OF TIME AND PROVIDE A COMPREHENSIBLE OUTPUT WITH PRACTICAL APPLICATION FOR USE BY CONSUMERS. THE CFFQ WILL BE BASED UPON THE "DIETARY SCREENER AND ASSESSMENT FORM" DEVELOPED AT THE NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE WHICH WILL BE ADAPTED TO THE USER FRIENDLY MACINTOSH ENVIRONMENT. FORMATIVE EVALUATION WILL BE CONDUCTED AT A FAMILY PRACTICE PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION IN WESTERN NEW YORK. RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY WILL BE DETERMINED BY COMPARING AN INTERVIEWED ASSISTED 3-DAY NUTRIENT ANALYSIS OF DIETARY RECALLS WITH THE DEVELOPED CFFQ. THE CFFQ WILL BE APPROPRIATE FOR USE IN OUTPATIENT, WAITING ROOM SETTINGS, UNIVERSITY AND SECONDARY CLASSROOMS, AND HEALTH PROMOTION AND WELLNESS PROGRAMS. THE SOFTWARE PROGRAM WILL PROVIDE A RAPID METHOD OF ASSESSMENT OF USUAL DIETARY INTAKE WITH MINIMAL RESPONDENT BURDEN AND OUTPUT COMPREHENSIBLE TO THE CONSUMER. OTHER COMPUTERIZED FOOD FREQUENCY QUESTIONNAIRES REQUIRE A TIME-INTENSIVE INTERVIEW AND PROFESSIONAL DATA INPUT. DURING PHASE II, THE CFFQ WILL BE EXPERIMENTALLY EVALUATED IN A PATIENT WELLNESS PROGRAM TO DETERMINE IF THE USE OF THE FOOD FREQUENCY QUESTIONNARE IMPROVED FOOD CHOICES.