Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #116528

Ming-Chin Yeh, PhD, Urban Public Health, Hunter College, City University of New York, 425 East 25th street, New York, NY 10010, 212-481-4134, myeh@hunter.cuny.edu, David Katz, MD, MPH, Yale Griffin Prevention Research Center, Yale University, School of Public Health, Griffin Hospital 30 Division Street, Derby, CT 06418, Karen Elizabeth Schultz, MPH, Yale Griffin Prevention Research Center, 130 Division Street, Derby, CT 06418, Valentine Njike, MD, Yale Prevention Reserach Center, 130 Division Street, Derby, CT 06418, Rosanne Farris, PhD, RD, Division of Adult and Community Health, Cardiovascular Health Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway NE, Mailstop K-47, Atlanta, GA 30341, and Alice S. Ammerman, DrPH, RD, Nutrition/Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1700 Airport Road, CB #8140, Chapel Hill, NC 27599.

Background: Despite clear evidence of beneficial effects of increasing fruit and vegetable intake, most Americans eat less than the recommended 5 or more daily servings. Intake varies by location, demographics, and ethnicity/cultural context. An understanding of factors influencing fruit and vegetable consumption in multi-ethnic populations is prerequisite to the development of effective interventions. Presented are the results of a CDC-funded project conducted in the Northeast and South through a collaboration of the Yale and UNC Prevention Research Centers to develop and test survey tools assessing determinants of, and barriers to, fruit and vegetable consumption in multi-ethnic, adult populations. Methods: A triangulation approach (literature review, focus groups, and intercept interviews) was used to develop survey questionnaires. A panel of experts reviewed the draft questionnaires to provide face validity. The questionnaires then went through cognitive testing and piloting testing before the final validity and reliability testing. Telephone interviews were used to collect survey data in conjunction with the 6 fruit and vegetable items from BRFSS. Results: A total of 11 fruit and vegetable consumption-related psychosocial constructs, such as knowledge, self-efficacy, and barriers, were developed. Three hundred and fifty participants (219 from NC and 131 from CT) completed the surveys. African Americans, whites, and Hispanics each represented 1/3 of the study population. Survey constructs showed good internal consistency reliabilities (Cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.71 to 0.89). Test-retest reliability also showed moderate to good correlation coefficients. Average fruit and vegetable consumption of study participants was 5.07 ± 2.88 servings per day.

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