Background
Literacy is an issue for many low-income audiences. Using visual information processing theories, our goal was improving readability of a food behavior checklist and ultimately improving its ability to accurately capture existing changes in dietary behaviors. Using group interviews, low-income clients (n=18) evaluated 4 visual styles. Text + color photographs were preferred over the other three visual styles: text only, text + black/white line drawings, text + grey scale photographs. Employing cognitive interview in an iterative process, clients (n=25) recommended simplifying text for 10 items, modifying content for 15 of 16 visuals, and replacing text with visual content for 7 of 16 items. Professional staff (n=7) and educators (n=10) verified that visuals and revised text accurately reflected the content of each item. Clients reported that the revised checklist captured their attention, added pleasure to the evaluation process, improved their understanding of the behaviors in question and facilitated comprehension of text. Readability scores improved by more than 2 grades. This process can be duplicated by other interested in enhancing the quality of existing evaluation tools.
Materials
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University of California Cooperative Extension Food Behavior Checklist Supplemental Booklet
To order, please email reprographics@ucdavis.edu Item Number “40” | Project Title “FBC Instruction Guide”