Validation of the e-NutLit, an Electronic Tool to Assess Nutrition Literacy.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To validate an electronic nutrition literacy assessment tool (e-NutLit). DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SETTING: An Australian teaching hospital obesity clinic (clinical cohort) and university (dietetic cohort). PARTICIPANTS: A convenience sample of patients with obesity (body mass index > 35 kg m-2) (obese participants [OP]) and dietetic interns (DI). INTERVENTIONS: The e-NutLit was administered to OP and scores were compared with performance on the Newest Vital Sign and e-NutLit scores of the DI to establish construct validity. A subset of OP completed the e-NutLit again to examine instrument temporal stability. Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach α. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Construct validity, temporal stability, and internal consistency. ANALYSIS: Parametric and nonparametric tests and general linear modeling were used as appropriate. RESULTS: A total of 103 participants completed the study (OP n = 59; 64.4% female; DI n = 44; 86.4% female). Newest Vital Sign and e-NutLit scores were significantly and positively associated (rs = 0.66; P <.001). The DI performed significantly better than the OP (OP 59.7 ± 13.1 percentage points; DI 83.9 ±â€¯5.5 percentage points; P <.001), further supporting construct validity. The e-NutLit Cronbach α was >0.9 indicating a good level of internal consistency. The OP test and retest scores were not significantly different, supporting instrument temporal stability. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS The results support the validity of the e-NutLit, for both clinicians and researchers.