FDPIR Directors, Staff and Key Stakeholders

Appendix C1.

ITO Director Interview Guide

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is XXXX-XXXX. It will take you, on average, 1 hour to complete this interview.

ITO DIRECTOR INTERVIEW GUIDE (1 hour )

Introduction to Project

Thank you again for agreeing to participate in this conversation. [INTRODUCE STAFF ON CALL]. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) wants to assess the level of interest in nutrition education training for Food Distribution Program (FDP) staff at local program sites. The training would be sponsored by USDA’s FDP and would train FDP staff at Indian Tribal Organizations (ITOs) to provide nutrition education to FDPIR participants.

USDA has contracted with 2M Research Services, LLC and Mathematica Policy Research to assess FDP staff interest in and willingness to participate in such a training and to collect information on topics that should be included in the training. As a key FDP staff member of [NAME OF ITO] who interacts with FDP participants, you have a unique perspective and your input will be very useful in designing a training program that can be delivered to FDP staff at ITOs across the country. This conversation is about you sharing your knowledge, experience, opinions, and observations as an individual and as a key FDP staff member. Again, thank you so much for your participation. We encourage open, honest dialogue and feedback.

We expect that this interview will take approximately 1 hour. The interview is voluntary; you may skip any questions that you do not wish to answer or stop the interview at any point.

Recording/Privacy:

We value what you say and we want to get it right. For this reason, a 2M/Mathematica staff member will take detailed notes during our phone interview. In addition, to make sure we fully and accurately capture our conversation we would like to also digitally record it. Please note that these interviews are anonymous. The recordings will not be shared with anyone outside of the 2M/Mathematica team, except as otherwise required by law, and will only be used to ensure the accuracy of transcription. After the transcriptions are complete, all recordings will be permanently deleted. Any identifying information mentioned in the interview will be omitted from the final transcript. For example, if you mention your name or someone else’s name, it will not appear in the final transcript nor will it be used in data analysis.

• Do I have your permission to record this interview? [If yes]—Thank you, if at any point in this interview you would like me to stop this recording please just let me know and I will do so.

• Do you have any questions before we get started? [IF NEEDED: FDPIR PARTICIPANTS WILL NOT BE INTERVIEWED.]

A. Introduction (2 minutes)

First, we’d like to learn more about your general experience working for the Tribe, with the FDP program, and with FDP staff.

1. Please describe your role with FDP (your job description and your day-to-day experience)

   1. Please confirm your job title.

   2. How long have you worked in that role?

   3. What are your main responsibilities?

B. Vision for FDP Nutrition Education (3 minutes)

Next, we’d like to learn more about nutrition education at your FDP program and your vision for the future of nutrition education for FDP staff.

1. Please describe how the program currently provides nutrition education to the participants.

   1. Who provides the nutrition education? [IF NEEDED: is the nutrition education provider FDP front line staff or do you contract with a consultant to provide the education]

   2. What, if any, training have the nutrition providers or nutrition education providers completed in the past?

   3. Does the current nutrition education plan meet FDP participant’s needs?

2. What are your future plans for providing nutrition education to FDP participants?

C. Background, Skills, and Experience of FDP Staff (5 minutes)

In this section, I’d like to discuss the background, skills, and experience of FDP staff who are most likely to interact with and provide nutrition information to FDPIR participants.

1. Please describe the typical FDP staff member working for you who are most likely to provide nutrition education or information to participants.

   1. How would you describe the background, skills, and experience of FDP staff who provide nutrition information and services to participants?

1. What proportion of FDP staff have prior nutrition work experience that helps them in their current role? [IF NEEDED: Most? Some? Hardly any? None?]

2. What proportion of staff have educational backgrounds that are directly relevant to nutrition or to their roles within FDP? [IF NEEDED: Most? Some? Hardly any? None?]

3. IF STAFF HAVE RELEVANT EDUCATION BACKGROUND: What proportion of FDP staff have a formal certification or degree in nutrition or a related area? [IF NEEDED: Most? Some? Hardly any? None?] In what subject areas?

1. What are the day-to-day challenges related to providing nutrition education faced by people working for the FDP at your Tribe? [Examples if needed: encounters with participants are too brief; participants unwilling to change their eating habits; too difficult to follow-up after providing nutrition education; there is a lack of meeting space for nutrition sessions].

   1. In your opinion, what are some possible solutions to these challenges? [Examples if needed: nutrition “quick-tips,” “nutrition lessons on the go,” “five minute” nutrition education lessons for participants, and lesson plans for staff]

2. What nutrition questions do participants ask? Are staff able to answer these questions? Are there questions that participants ask that staff are unable to answer?

D. Availability of Other Nutrition Education Resources (5 minutes)

Next, I’d like to talk about the nutrition education training opportunities and nutrition information resources that are currently or were previously available at your ITO.

1. We would like to know about the availability and use of nutrition education training opportunities for FDP staff both currently and in the past. Are you aware of any nutrition education training opportunities that currently exist or were previously offered to FDP staff? [IF NO, SKIP TO QUESTION D.2.]

1. What organization provides/provided this training? PROBE: USDA or other organization.

2. What is/was the focus of these training opportunities (e.g., preparing FDP foods at home, physical activity, etc.) and which specific age/life cycle groups are/were covered? [Examples if needed: Children, elderly.]

3. Do you know whether FDP staff use/used these training opportunities? If so, how?

4. Do you know whether FDP staff find/found these training opportunities useful?

5. Do you know if FDP staff use the information they received during training to teach FDPIR participants about the topics covered?

6. In your opinion, do/did these trainings improve staff performance or knowledge?

2. In your opinion, are there any gaps or shortcomings in the nutrition education training opportunities that are currently available to FDP staff? What is missing or needed now?

1. Can you think of a scenario where staff were unable to assist an FDP participant because they lacked food or nutrition training or knowledge?

2. What can be improved or added to these training opportunities to make them more useful to staff for providing information to participants? Or more targeted to the needs of FDP recipients?

3. Are there any other nutrition education resources available to FDP staff? What types of resources are available? [Examples if needed: websites, fact sheets, FAQs, online modules] [IF NO, SKIP TO SECTION C]

1. Do you know whether FDP staff use/used these nutrition education resources?

2. Do you know whether FDP staff find/found these nutrition education resources useful?

3. In your opinion, are there any gaps or shortcomings in the nutrition education resources that are currently available? What could be improved or added to these resources to make them more useful to staff for providing information to participants? More targeted to needs of FDP recipients?

E. Motivation to Participate in Training (5 minutes)

Now, I’d like to get your opinions on what would motivate FDP staff to participate in a USDA-sponsored nutrition education training.

1. Do you think FDP staff would be interested in USDA-sponsored nutrition education training opportunities, if offered?

2. What types of things would motivate staff to participate, in your opinion? [Examples, if needed: to provide information to their community, for personal satisfaction]

3. How do you believe staff would react to receiving a certificate of recognition for completing the training? Would this be a source of motivation? A validation of their knowledge?

4. Can you share your thoughts on whether staff, after receiving training, may be willing to take on the role of an educator in their program, teaching what they’ve learned in the training to others?

F. Perceptions on Format/Delivery of Training (9 minutes)

The next series of questions is designed to capture what you think the best way to deliver training would be, if it were offered by USDA.

1. First, I’d like to ask for your opinions on when and how the training should be scheduled, if it is offered:

   1. In your opinion, how long should the training be? [Examples, if needed: one day, multiple days.]

   2. Should the training be offered during the week or on the weekends?

   3. What is the best time of day to conduct the training? [Examples, if needed: morning, afternoon, evening.]

   4. Should staff be able to access the training at their own convenience (e.g., archived webinars), or should the training be provided only at specific days and times (e.g., classroom time)?

   5. If the training is offered in-person, is distance to a central training location something the USDA should consider?

   6. Where should the training be held? [Examples, if needed: at a central training location or at multiple regional locations.]

   7. Are there seasonal events during the year that USDA should consider when scheduling the training? [Examples if needed: celebrations, cultural, or traditional events specific to ITOs; gardening season; regional conferences or NAFDPIR conference (held in June); food package workgroup meetings]

2. Do you think staff would need refresher trainings due to staff turnover and/or knowledge deterioration? If so, how often should refresher trainings be offered?

3. Do you think that ongoing support services would be useful to staff that had already completed the training? Why/why not?

1. What types of support services would be useful? [Examples if needed: fact sheets, nutrition training reference guides or manuals, call-in or email technical support for questions, proctors or designated nutritionist contacts, training videos that can be accessed for review purposes.]

4. How many people do you think each training session should include? [Examples if needed: individual, small group, large group (ask respondent to clarify number of participants [e.g., 10-20, 20-30, etc.] if they specify small or large group).]

5. Do you think that the training should occur in-person, by conference call or video conference, through an online training module, through some combination of these formats, or in some other format?

   1. Do staff have reliable access to a computer and the internet?

   2. Are there training needs that require utilizing technological training modules (e.g., online training, webinars, live meetings, video conferencing)

   3. What are the characteristics or competencies that educators who provide training to FDP staff should have? [Examples if necessary: reliable, prompt, detail-oriented, culturally sensitive, knowledgeable about adult learning theory, non-judgmental.]

6. Are there any specific training methods that should be included or have worked well when training staff in the past? [Examples, if needed: role-playing, guest trainers, case studies.]

1. Are there any training methods that do not work well or you would not recommend including?

7. Are there community members or persons other than FDP staff who should be trained to provide nutrition education to FDPIR participants?

G. Potential Education Topics (5 minutes)

Next, I’d like to discuss the value of including different topics in the nutrition education training, if it were offered.

1. I’d like your opinions on whether each of the following topics should be included in the training, if it were offered, and why:

   1. Nutrient value of FDP foods

   2. Eating more fruits and vegetables

   3. Include more whole grains in the diet

   4. Reducing fat/sugar/salt intake

   5. Enjoying your food but eating less

   6. Meal planning using FDP foods

   7. Storing foods safely (i.e. maintaining quality and safety of foods once they’re in the home)

   8. How to prepare and use FDP foods

   9. Reading nutrition labels

   10. Are there any other topics that should be included that we haven’t discussed yet? If so, what are they?

2. In your opinion, what are the three most important nutrition education topics that should be included in the training? What three nutrition education topics have your staff already mastered (i.e., do not require further training)?

H. Training Preferences (5 minutes)

We’re almost to the end of our questions for today. Before we finish up, we’d like to hear your opinions about possible challenges that USDA might face if they decide to offer nutrition education training to FDP staff.

1. In your opinion, what types of things might prevent FDP staff from attending a nutrition education training, if it was offered?

   1. Are there any cultural differences that might act as barriers? Are there any customs that may make training more meaningful for staff?

   2. Would staff have difficulty obtaining childcare if trainings were to occur off-site?

   3. Do you think staff would have difficulty taking time away from work to attend training? Would you allow them to take it or encourage them to do so?

   4. Are there any other challenges you can foresee that we have not yet discussed?

2. If USDA were to offer the training, they may also want to think about ways to measure whether the training was useful and gave staff the education they needed. They might do this by having staff fill out a questionnaire or a survey after attending the training. Do you think FDP staff would be willing to participate in these types of activities? Why/why not?

I. Wrap-Up (1 minutes)

We’ve reached the end of my questions.

1. Is there anything else that you would like to discuss today that we may have missed?

2. As I mentioned previously, we are planning to conduct a similar interview with an FDP staff member. Would you mind passing along contact information for a staff member you think we should interview?

Staff Member Contact information

Staff Name:

Reference and ITO:

Staff Phone:

Best time to reach/Best way to contact staff:

Thank you again for taking the time to speak with us today, and for sharing your thoughts. Have a great day.