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Technology-enabled approaches to conducting 24-h dietary recalls (24HR) may reduce dietary assessment bottlenecks in low-resource settings. However, few studies have assessed their performance relative to conventional pen-and-paper interview (PAPI) approaches and none have validated performance against a benchmark (e.g. weighed food record (WFR)) in a low- and middle-income country (LMIC). This study assessed relative accuracy and cost-effectiveness of INDDEX24, a technology-enabled approach to conducting 24HR, compared with a PAPI approach and against an observer WFR. Women aged 18–49 years from northern Viet Nam (n 234) were randomly assigned to be interviewed using INDDEX24 or PAPI 24HR following a WFR. The two one-sided t test approach assessed the equivalence of each recall modality to the benchmark. Difference-in-differences analysis compared the recall-benchmark results across modalities. Cost per percentage point of accuracy for INDDEX24 and PAPI was derived from accuracy results and the cost to conduct the 24HR. The PAPI and INDDEX24 24HR were statistically equivalent to the WFR for all nutrients except vitamin A. INDDEX24 diverged significantly less than PAPI from the WFR for Fe (0·9 v. −1·3 mg) and PAPI diverged less for protein (–3·7 v. 7·9 g). At the individual level, 26 % of PAPI and 32 % of INDDEX24 respondents had energy intakes within +/– 10 % of the WFR. INDDEX24 cost $111 004 and the PAPI cost $120 483 (USD 2019), making INDDEX24 more cost-effective across most indicators. INDDEX24 was an accurate and cost-effective method for assessing dietary intake in the study context and represents a preferred alternative to PAPI 24HR in Viet Nam and other LMIC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The INDDEX24 Dietary Assessment Platform (INDDEX24) was developed to facilitate the collection of 24-h dietary recall (24HR) data. Alongside validation studies in Viet Nam and Burkina Faso in 2019–2020, we conducted activity-based costing studies to estimate the cost of conducting a 24HR among women of reproductive age using INDDEX24 compared with the pen-and-paper interview (PAPI) approach. We also modelled alternative scenarios in which: (1) 25–75 % of dietary reference data were borrowed from the INDDEX24 Global Food Matters Database (FMDB); (2) all study personnel were locally based and (3) national-scale surveys. In the primary analysis, in Viet Nam, the 24HR cost US $111 004 ($755/respondent, n 147) using INDDEX24 and $120 483 ($820/respondent, n 147) using PAPI. In Burkina Faso, the 24HR cost $78 105 ($539/respondent, n 145) using INDDEX24 and $79 465 ($544/respondent, n 146) using PAPI. In modelled scenarios, borrowing dietary reference data from the FMDB decreased the cost of INDDEX24 by 17–34 % (Viet Nam) and 5–15 % (Burkina Faso). With all locally based personnel, INDDEX24 cost more than PAPI ($498 v. $448 per respondent in Viet Nam and $456 v. $410 in Burkina Faso). However, at national scales (n 4376, Viet Nam; n 6500, Burkina Faso) using all locally based personnel, INDDEX24 was more cost-efficient ($109 v. $137 per respondent in Viet Nam and $123 v. $148 in Burkina Faso). In two countries and under most circumstances, INDDEX24 was less expensive than PAPI. Higher INDDEX24 survey preparation costs (including purchasing equipment) were more than offset by higher PAPI data entry, cleaning and processing costs. INDDEX24 may facilitate cost-efficient dietary data collection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective nutrition policies require timely, accurate individual dietary consumption data; collection of such information has been hampered by cost and complexity of dietary surveys and lag in producing results. The objective of this work was to assess accuracy and cost-effectiveness of a streamlined, tablet-based dietary data collection platform for 24-hour individual dietary recalls (24HR) administered using INDDEX24 platform v. a pen-and-paper interview(PAPI) questionnaire, with weighed food record (WFR) as a benchmark. This cross-sectional comparative study included women 18–49 years old from rural Burkina Faso (n 116 INDDEX24; n 115 PAPI). A WFR was conducted; the following day, a 24HR was administered by different interviewers. Food consumption data were converted into nutrient intakes. Validity of 24HR estimates of nutrient and food group consumption was based on comparison with WFR using equivalence tests (group level) and percentages of participants within ranges of percentage error (individual level). Both modalities performed comparably estimating consumption of macro- and micronutrients, food groups and quantities (modalities' divergence from WFR not significantly different). Accuracy of both modalities was acceptable (equivalence to WFR significant at P < 0·05) at group level for macronutrients, less so for micronutrients and individual-level consumption (percentage within ±20 % for WFR, 17–45 % for macronutrients, 5–17 % for micronutrients). INDDEX24 was more cost-effective than PAPI based on superior accuracy of a composite nutrient intake measure (but not gram amount or item count) due to lower time and personnel costs. INDDEX24 for 24HR dietary surveys linked to dietary reference data shows comparable accuracy to PAPI at lower cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To validate digitally displayed photographic portion-size estimation aids (PSEA) against a weighed meal record and compare findings with an atlas of printed photographic PSEA and actual prepared-food PSEA in a low-income country.Design: Participants served themselves water and five prepared foods, which were weighed separately before the meal and again after the meal to measure any leftovers. Participants returned the following day and completed a meal recall. They estimated the quantities of foods consumed three times using the different PSEA in a randomized order.Setting: Two urban and two rural communities in southern Malawi.Participants: Women (n 300) aged 18-45 years, equally divided by urban/rural residence and years of education (≤4 years and ≥5 years).Results: Responses for digital and printed PSEA were highly correlated (>91 % agreement for all foods, Cohen's κw = 0·78-0·93). Overall, at the individual level, digital and actual-food PSEA had a similar level of agreement with the weighed meal record. At the group level, the proportion of participants who estimated within 20 % of the weighed grams of food consumed ranged by type of food from 30 to 45 % for digital PSEA and 40-56 % for actual-food PSEA. Digital PSEA consistently underestimated grams and nutrients across foods, whereas actual-food PSEA provided a mix of under- and overestimates that balanced each other to produce accurate mean energy and nutrient intake estimates. Results did not differ by urban and rural location or participant education level.Conclusions: Digital PSEA require further testing in low-income settings to improve accuracy of estimations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate preferences for and ease-of-use perceptions of different aspects of printed and digitally displayed photographic portion-size estimation aids (PSEA) in a low-resource setting and to document accuracy of portion-size selections using PSEA with different visual characteristics.Design: A convergent mixed-methods design and stepwise approach were used to assess characteristics of interest in isolation. Participants served themselves food and water, which were weighed before and after consumption to measure leftovers and quantity consumed. Thirty minutes later, data collectors administered a meal recall using a PSEA and then a semi-structured interview.Setting: Blantyre and Chikwawa Districts in the southern region of Malawi.Participants: Ninety-six women, aged 18-45 years.Results: Preferences and ease-of-use perceptions favoured photographs rather than drawings of shapes, three and five portion-size options rather than three with four virtual portion-size options, a 45° rather than a 90° photograph angle, and simultaneous rather than sequential presentation of portion-size options. Approximately half to three-quarters of participants found the portion-size options represented appropriate amounts of foods or water consumed. Photographs with three portion sizes resulted in more accurate portion-size selections (closest to measured consumption) than other format and number of portion-size option combinations. A 45° angle and simultaneous presentation were more accurate than a 90° angle and sequential presentation of images.Conclusions: Results from testing PSEA visual characteristics separately can be used to generate optimal PSEA, which can improve participants' experiences during meal recalls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The present paper aimed to demonstrate how 24 h dietary recall data can be used to generate a nutrition-relevant food list for household consumption and expenditure surveys (HCES) using contribution analysis and stepwise regression.Design: The analysis used data from the 2011/12 Bangladesh Integrated Household Survey (BIHS), which is nationally representative of rural Bangladesh. A total of 325 primary sampling units (PSU=village) were surveyed through a two-stage stratified sampling approach. The household food consumption module used for the analysis consisted of a 24 h open dietary recall in which the female member in charge of preparing and serving food was asked about foods and quantities consumed by the whole household.Setting: Rural Bangladesh.ParticipantsA total of 6500 households.Results: The original 24 h open dietary recall data in the BIHS were comprised of 288 individual foods that were grouped into ninety-four similar food groups. Contribution analysis and stepwise regression were based on nutrients of public health interest in Bangladesh (energy, protein, fat, Fe, Zn, vitamin A). These steps revealed that a list of fifty-nine food items captures approximately 90 % of the total intake and up to 90 % of the between-person variation for the key nutrients based on the diets of the population.Conclusions: The study illustrates how 24 h open dietary recall data can be used to generate a country-specific nutrition-relevant food list that could be integrated into an HCES consumption module to enable more accurate and comprehensive household-level food and nutrient analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Factors associated with relapse among children who are discharged after reaching a threshold denoted 'recovered' from moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) are not well understood. The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with sustained recovery, defined as maintaining a mid-upper-arm circumference≥12·5 cm for 1 year after release from treatment. On the basis of an observational study design, we analysed data from an in-depth household (HH) survey on a sub-sample of participants within a larger cluster randomised controlled trial (cRCT) that followed up children for 1 year after recovery from MAM. Out of 1497 children participating in the cRCT, a subset of 315 children participated in this sub-study. Accounting for other factors, HH with fitted lids on water storage containers (P= 0·004) was a significant predictor of sustained recovery. In addition, sustained recovery was better among children whose caregivers were observed to have clean hands (P= 0·053) and in HH using an improved sanitation facility (P =0·083). By contrast, socio-economic status and infant and young child feeding practices at the time of discharge and HH food security throughout the follow-up period were not significant. Given these results, we hypothesise that improved water, sanitation and hygiene conditions in tandem with management of MAM through supplemental feeding programmes have the possibility to decrease relapse following recovery from MAM. Furthermore, the absence of associations between relapse and nearly all HH-level factors indicates that the causal factors of relapse may be related mostly to the child's individual, underlying health and nutrition status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore the effect of seasonality on fruit and vegetable availability and prices across three outlet types (farmers' markets, roadside stands and conventional supermarkets).Design: Cross-sectional survey of geographically clustered supermarkets, farmers' markets and roadside stands. Enumerators recorded the availability and lowest price for eleven fruits and eighteen vegetables in each season of 2011.Setting: Price data were collected at retail outlets located in central and eastern North Carolina.Subjects: The sample consisted of thirty-three supermarkets, thirty-four farmers' markets and twenty-three roadside stands.Results: Outside the local harvest season, the availability of many fruits and vegetables was substantially lower at farmers' markets and roadside stands compared with supermarkets. Given sufficient availability, some items were significantly cheaper (P<0·05) at direct retail outlets in the peak season (e.g. cantaloupe cost 36·0 % less at roadside stands than supermarkets), while others were significantly more expensive (e.g. carrots cost 137·9 % more at farmers' markets than supermarkets). Although small samples limited statistical power in many non-peak comparisons, these results also showed some differences by item: two-thirds of fruits were cheaper at one or both direct outlets in the spring and autumn, whereas five of eighteen vegetables cost more at direct retail year-round.Conclusions: Commonly consumed fruits and vegetables were more widely available at supermarkets in central and eastern North Carolina than at direct retail outlets, in each season. Contingent on item availability, price competitiveness of the direct retail outlets varied by fruit and vegetable. For many items, the outlets compete on price in more than one season. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]