Development of instructions and tape measure to improve accuracy of parental report of preschool height (1024.5)

Abstract

Accurate height measurements are essential to calculating BMI. An iterative process was used to develop materials to improve the accuracy with which parents in an obesity‐prevention program measured and reported child height. Phase A used brief, written, stepwise instructions that were cognitively tested, operationalized by parents using equipment provided by researchers, and refined using parent feedback and researcher observations after each of 3 testing rounds (n=6,13,5). Researcher and parent child height measurements did not differ significantly in Round 1 & 2 (mean difference within +0.18”+0.58SD). Round 3 revealed instructions were too difficult for parents with less formal education. Phase B used a brief narrated video that was tested and refined over a series of 4 rounds (n=9,13,5,5; 56% had high school or less; 44% had some college). Common errors were not verifying TM straightness, hanging TM over a baseboard, not removing child shoes, not having child breath in‐out before taking measurements, and misreading fractions. The TM was revised to label each ¼” mark. The video was refined and retested until differences between researcher and parent measurements were within +0.38”+0.48SD in the last testing round. Compared to written instructions, parents rated the video as clearer (4.88±0.34 vs 4.5±0.75SD) and felt the video would improve their child height measurements (4.98±0.09SD vs 4.09±1.16SD).Grant Funding Source: Supported by USDA, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Grant Number 2011‐68001‐30170