Session/Event: Computational Methods to Advance Rigor and Data Collection in Nutrition (Oral 30)

(OR30-04-22) The INDDEX24 Dietary Assessment Platform Compared to Pen and Paper 24-Hour Dietary Recalls: Evidence on Cost, Cost-Effectiveness, and Accuracy From Viet Nam and Burkina Faso

On Demand

Presenting Author(s)

WB

Winnie Bell, PhD, MPH

Senior Technical Advisor
Intake - Center for Dietary Assessment at FHI Solutions
Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Disclosure: Disclosure(s): No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

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Co-Author(s)

JS

Jerome W. Some, Phd

Researcher
Tufts University
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
KA

Katherine P. Adams, PhD

Assistant Project Scientist
University of California, Davis
Davis, California, United States
PB

Peter Bakun, MS

Tufts University
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
BC

Brooke Colaiezzi, MS

Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
SW

Sarah Wafa, MPH

Researcher
Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
HP

Ha Phuong Do, PhD, MD

National Institute of Nutrition, Viet Nam
BR

Beatrice L. Rogers, PhD

Professor
Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
JC

Jennifer Coates, PhD

Associate Professor of Food Policy and Applied Nutrition
Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy
Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Objectives: The INDDEX24 Dietary Assessment Platform (INDDEX24) is an integrated dietary research platform that leverages the INDDEX24 Mobile App and the Global Food Matters Database to accelerate food and nutrition research in low- and middle-income countries. The goal in designing INDDEX24 was to increase the collection of actionable dietary data by developing a solution that would reduce the overall cost and time of surveys, while also improving accuracy.

Methods: To test the accuracy of INDDEX24, rigorous validation studies were conducted comparing INDDEX24 to pen-and-paper 24HR, with both evaluated against the benchmark of observer-weighed food records (WFR). These interviews were carried out for a sample of women between the age of 18 and 49 in Burkina Faso (n=231) and Viet Nam (n=234). An accompanying cost-effectiveness study measured the time and cost required to perform a 24HR, the time per interview, and the cost-per-unit of accuracy of INDDEX24 compared to pen-and-paper and the WFR. This study used activity-based costing methods to account for the time and money spent to prepare for the study, implement the survey, and process the 24HR data to produce usable results. To estimate the time per interview, additional respondents (n=60) were randomly selected from urban and rural areas, and the time of each interview was recorded.

Results: The accuracy of INDDEX24 was the same or slightly better than pen-and-paper when compared to the weighed food record, and varied by country, food group, and nutrient. From a cost perspective, we found that using INDDEX24 reduced the cost by $65 per respondent in Viet Nam where pen-and-paper cost $820 and INDDEX24 cost $755 per respondent, and by $5 per respondent in Burkina Faso where pen-and-paper cost $544 and INDDEX24 cost $539. INDDEX24 was also more cost-effective (i.e., lower cost per unit of relative accuracy) compared to pen-and-paper due to superior accuracy of a composite nutrient intake measure and lower time and personnel costs for survey administration and data entry.

Conclusions: The rigorous validation studies in both Viet Nam and Burkina Faso concluded that the use of INDDEX24 reduces the costs and time required to implement 24-hour recall studies, while maintaining or improving data accuracy.

Funding Sources: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation