The Use of Telephone Interview Methodology to Obtain 24-hour Dietary Recalls

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Abstract

Objective To compare 24-hour dietary recalls collected over the telephone to in-person recalls collected in the 1994-1996 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (CSFII).

Design Trained interviewers collected 24-hour dietary recalls over the telephone using the multiple-pass approach. These results were compared to in-person interviews from a pooled subsample of CSFII respondents.

Subjects/setting List-assisted random-digit dialing was used to identify 700 women between the ages of 20 and 49 years. One eligible woman per household was selected to participate.

Statistical analyses Approximate t tests to examine differences in average nutrient and energy intakes were conducted on weighted data.

Results The reported intakes of most nutrients in the current 24-hour dietary recalls collected over the telephone were significantly higher than those reported in the 1994 and 1995 CSFII, but there were no significant differences between the telephone survey and 1996 CSFII results. The 24-hour dietary recalls collected over the telephone yielded consistently greater mean nutrient intake per respondent compared with a comparable pooled subsample from the 1994,1995, and 1996 CSFII. Generally, no significant differences were found in the food group data between the telephone survey and the CSFII survey. Mean dietary intakes reported by the comparable CSFII subsample increased from 1994 to 1996.

Applications Collecting 24-hour dietary recalls over the telephone is a practical and valid data collection tool for use in national food consumption surveys. J Am Diet Assoc. 1999;99:1406–1411.

Section snippets

Sample

Women aged 20 to 49 years were chosen for the telephone survey because they were expected to be knowledgeable about the preparation of foods they consumed. The study population was limited to one sex/age group to ensure a sample size large enough for comparison with the CSFII. Data were collected from January through March 1998. For the benefit of comparability, the CSFII sample was restricted to female respondents who were 20 to 49 years old at the time of interview and who recorded their

Statistical Analyses

Sample weights were incorporated into the analysis to compensate for varying selection probabilities, differing response rates, and potential sampling deficiencies. Sources of varying selection probabilities include the varying number of eligible women and number of residential telephones in a household. Differing response rates result when certain subgroups are under- or overrepresented. Potential sampling deficiencies occur when certain populations are undersampled or not sampled at all, such

Response Rates

Of the 6,000 initial telephone numbers, 871 were determined to be nonresidential/nonworking before data collection began; 1,813 were determined to be nonresidential/nonworking during data collection, and no one answered at 551. Of the remaining 2,765 working residential telephone numbers, 996 households identified had an eligible woman and 783 of those women agreed to participate. Seven hundred women completed the 24-hour dietary recall. Thus, of the households contacted by telephone who had an

Discussion

The first goal of the Telephone Feasibility Study was to determine whether collecting food consumption data over the telephone was indeed feasible. Our results confirm that it is feasible to collect detailed food intake data over the telephone using procedures and instruments similar to those used for the 1994-1996 CSFII. The second goal of the telephone study was to compare the responses from the telephone survey with those of a comparable pooled subsample from the 1994-1996 CSFII. Our results

Applications

■ We conclude that the use of the telephone is a practical, feasible, and valid method for collecting 24-hour dietary recall data in national food consumption surveys.

■ Efficacy of the telephone method may have been increased by the use of the multiple-pass approach and 2-dimensional visuals to collect the 24-hour dietary recall.

■ Underreporting may have been less of a problem with the telephone survey because greater amounts of major nutrients were reported than the pooled 1994-1996 CSFII

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