FDPIR Directors, Staff and Key Stakeholders

Appendix C2. FDPIR Staff Interview Guide OMB Number: XXXX-XXXX Expiration Date: XX/XX/XXXX

Appendix C2.

FDPIR Staff 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.

FDPIR STAFF 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 and with the FDP program.

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. Background, Skills, and Experience (3 minutes)

In this section I’d like to discuss your background, skills, and experience. We would also like to get a better sense of what your schedule looks like as a staff member and see where a potential nutrition training could fit.

1. Do you provide nutrition education in your current role? If no, why not?

2. In what nutrition-related topic areas do you feel you are most knowledgeable? Least knowledgeable?

3. Did you receive training to provide nutrition education? Do you have prior work or other experience that helps you in your current role? Please describe that experience.

   1. IF STAFF HAS RELEVANT EDUCATION BACKGROUND: Do you have a formal certification or degree? In what topic areas?

4. Do you feel comfortable providing nutrition education? If no, why not?

5. What are your day-to-day challenges when it comes to providing nutrition education to FDP participants?

   1. What are nutrition or food related questions that FDP participants ask?

C. Availability of Other Nutrition Education Resources (6 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 C.2.]

   1. What organization provides/provided this training? PROBE: USDA or other organization [e.g., representative from a college, university, or extension].

   2. What is/was the focus of these training opportunities (e.g., focus on preparing food at home, physical activity, etc.), and did they focus on providing information to certain groups of people? [Examples if necessary: children, elderly, etc.]

   3. Did you use these training opportunities?

   4. Did you find these training opportunities useful?

   5. Did you use the information you received during training to teach FDPIR participants about the topics covered?

   6. Did these trainings improve your performance or knowledge, in your opinion?

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

   1. If you are willing to share, can you think of a time where you were unable to assist an FDP recipient because you did not have the food or nutrition training or knowledge needed?

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

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

   1. Do you use these resources?

   2. Were these other resources useful? Please explain.

   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 you for providing information to participants? More targeted to needs of FDP recipients?

D. Motivation to Participate in Training (6 minutes)

Now, I’d like to ask about what would cause or interest you to participate in USDA-sponsored nutrition education training, if offered, and see if you would you be interested in sharing what you learned with your participants and take on greater responsibility with respect to nutrition education.

1. First, would you be interested in USDA-sponsored nutrition education training opportunities?

2. Why would you be interested, and/or what would be your reasons for participating [Examples, if needed: to provide information to their community, for personal satisfaction]?

3. Would a certificate of recognition for completing the nutrition training be something that would interest you?

   1. What else might motivate you to participate in such a training?

4. After training, would you be willing to take on the role of an educator in your program, and teach what you learned in the training to others?

E. Perceptions on Format/Delivery of Training (10 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 the training be accessible at your own convenience (e.g., archived webinars), or should the training be provided only during specific days and times (e.g., classroom time)?

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

   6. If the training is offered in-person, is distance to a central training location something the USDA should consider? Would you be willing to travel to a central location to attend training sessions?

   7. Are there seasonal events during the year that USDA should consider when scheduling the training? [Examples if needed: celebrations specific to the ITO, regional conferences, food package workgroup meetings, State plans, ITO annual cultural events, festivals, gardening season, etc.]

2. Do you think you would need refresher trainings to support and update knowledge and skills gained during initial training? If so, how often should refresher training be offered? Should basic training be offered on an ongoing basis for new staff that is hired?

3. Do you think that ongoing support services would be useful to you after you completed the training?

   1. What types of support services would be useful? [Examples if needed: fact sheets, manual, call-in or email technical support for questions.]

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 you have reliable access to a computer and the internet? What types of additional computer training would you need if the nutrition training were online [e.g., online training module, webinars, live meetings, video conferencing]?

   2. 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 been effective when training in the past? [Examples, if needed: role-playing, guest trainers, case studies, other methods specific to training adults.]

   1. Are there any that are not effective 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 FDP participants?

F. Potential Education Topics (6 minutes)

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

1. I’d like your opinions on whether each of the following topics should be included in the training, if it was 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 educational topics that should be included in the training? What three educational topics have you already mastered (i.e., do not require further training)?

G. Training Preferences (6 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 a nutrition education training to FDP staff.

1. In your opinion, what types of things might prevent you from attending a nutrition education training, if it were 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 you would have difficulty taking time away from work to attend training?

   4. Do you think your FDP director would encourage or allow you to participate in the training, if it were offered?

   5. 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. Would you be willing to participate in these types of activities? Why/why not?

H. 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?

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