Abstract

Background:

The General Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire (GNKQ) was developed in the United Kingdom (UK) in 1999 and validated for use in Australia in 2008. Changes in national nutrition recommendations and food availability prompted the re-development and re-validation of the UK questionnaire in 2016. However, the Australian questionnaire had not been subsequently updated. This study aimed to validate a nutrition knowledge questionnaire appropriate for use in Australia.

Method:

The 2016 UK GNKQ and the 2008 Australian GNKQ were reviewed against key national nutrition documents. Content validity was determined using a sample of Australian dietetic academics (n = 8). Face validity was undertaken with retail employees (n = 11) whose highest level of education was secondary school. This assisted in developing the final Revised Australian Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire (AUS-R) tool. Ninety-three undergraduate nutrition and engineering students at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) completed the questionnaire for construct validity and 19 students were contacted a week later for test-retest reliability.

Results:

Nutrition students scored consistently higher in each section and for the questionnaire overall (M = 100.53, SD = 7.82) compared to engineering students (M = 80.13, SD = 10.17), t(91) = 10.86, P = <0.001). Internal reliability of the questionnaire was high (α = 0.92) as was test-retest reliability (r = 0.98, ICC 2,1 = 0.99). The AUS-R questionnaire determined significant differences between individuals with known higher levels of nutrition knowledge and obtained high validity, reliability and consistency within an Australian sample.

Conclusion:

The AUS-R refined through this research is valid and would be an appropriate tool for assessing the effectiveness of nutrition knowledge-based interventions for public health programs, clinicians and researchers.

Thompson, C., Vidgen, H. A., Gallegos, D., & Hannan-Jones, M. (2019, August 12-14). The development and validation of a revised general nutrition knowledge questionnaire for an Australian audience. In Dietitians Association of Australia 36th National Conference.