Development and validation of a shelf inventory to evaluate household food purchases among older adults with diabetes mellitus.
OBJECTIVE
Valid measures of behavioral outcomes are needed to evaluate interventions. The purpose of this research was to validate a shelf inventory and evaluate food purchases using the inventory among older adults with diabetes.


METHODS
A 166-item shelf inventory of household food was assessed for face, content, and criterion validity. The sensitivity and specificity of the inventory were determined by comparing participant- and interviewer-completed inventories. A randomized pretest/post-test control group design was used to evaluate household food purchases following an intervention.


METHODS
The intervention was held in an outpatient setting.


METHODS
Study participants were > or = 65 years old with type 2 diabetes mellitus for > or = 1 year.


METHODS
The intervention included 10 weekly group sessions and emphasized applying food label information to food purchases.


METHODS
Each food on the inventory was defined as "encouraged" or "discouraged" according to intervention messages.


METHODS
Inventory sensitivity was the proportion of foods present in households that were accurately identified on the self-reported inventory as present; specificity was the proportion of foods not present that were accurately identified as not present. Two-sample t tests compared intervention scores for encouraged/discouraged foods by treatment group.


RESULTS
Overall sensitivity and specificity were.90 and.97, respectively. Intervention results found more encouraged than discouraged foods present at post-test (t [91] = 2.3, P =.02).


CONCLUSIONS
The shelf inventory is a sensitive, specific, and valid tool for assessing household food purchases and can be used to evaluate food choice interventions among older adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Miller
Carla
C
Department of Nutrition, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA.
Edwards
Lesley
L
D000368:Aged; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000523:psychology*; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005502:Food / Q000191:economics*; D005515:Food Labeling; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D052756:Nutritional Sciences / Q000193:education*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012650:Self Disclosure; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity