Revised - Formative Research to Develop Educational Materials for Parents, Caregivers, and Child Care Providers of Children Ages 2-5 (Individuals/Households)

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Discussion Guide for Child Care Provider IDIs - Draft

(BRONX, NY & MD)

Attachment L: Triad Moderator’s Guide: Parent/Caregiver (English)

Note: A discussion guide is a tool used to facilitate the flow of discussion. The guide is not a script and will not be used verbatim. The moderator will explore opportunities as they present themselves during the discussion. The guide should be viewed as a framework for discussion.

I. Introduction 5 minutes

Hello, my name is _______, and I’ll be leading this discussion tonight. My client for this group is the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)/Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). The purpose of this group is to learn about the parenting experiences of households with young children (ages 2-5), as well as to show you some health education materials and hear your thoughts about them.

Thank you for being here. Before we get into the formal part of our discussion:

Explain the purpose of the Triad. Go over the features of the discussion, including:

• Privacy: Your full names will never be used. We just want to hear your opinions. There are no right or wrong answers, so feel free to express your opinions even if it is not in agreement with others in the room.

• Please turn off cell phones during the time we are in the group. Thank you.

• This discussion is being audio taped so that I do not have to take notes. This is strictly for research purposes. Everything will be kept private, except as otherwise required by law. I am required by law to report cases of child maltreatment.

• If there are observers – They are here to remind me if I have missed anything. They may pass a note every once in a while to let me know.

• While it’s hard for some people to speak out in a group setting, you have been invited here because we really value each of your perspectives and opinions. We want to hear from everyone during this small group interview, so please plan to actively participate, and also encourage the participation of others in the triad by allowing others to express their own opinions.

• Please speak up when you talk so everyone can hear you clearly. Please speak one at a time.

• Further, I am an independent researcher, so whatever your view, I will neither judge nor be offended. So please be honest! It’s easy to be swept away by “group think,” but you all have valuable individual experiences, positive and negative, and we want to hear about them all. There are no right or wrong answers.

• If you have any questions or additional comments, please ask at any time.

Let’s first go around the room and introduce ourselves. Please tell me…

• First name

• Age

• Number, age, and gender of children

• What is your child’s favorite food

II. EXPLORATORY SECTION 30 minutes

General Concerns Regarding Young Children

• Please tell me the areas of greatest interest or concern regarding your young child (ages 2-5).

• Do you find it challenging to provide your child with healthy foods? Tell me more. (PROBE: around food scarcity [lack of resources or access to buy fresh food, etc.], time in procuring or preparing meals, lack of nutrition knowledge, cooking skills, etc.)

• What are the biggest challenges to providing your child with healthy foods?

• What would help you minimize the challenges?

• How do you feel about the nutrition your child receives in child care? Why? Please explain. (PROBE: what aspects do you like? What concerns do you have?)

• How does enrollment in child care affect how you feed your child? (PROBE around whether parents prepare meals and snacks themselves for consumption on site, and whether that is instead of or in addition to what is provided.)

• What child nutrition topics are of greatest interest to you? (i.e., snacks, specific food groups, obesity, sugar, physical activity, MyPlate)

Sources of Health-Related Information

• Where do you generally receive information about nutrition for your child? (PROBE online vs. off-line sources).

• Which sources do you find most credible? Be specific. (PROBE: magazines, TV, friends, family, child care, social media, doctors, nutritionists, websites)

• PROBE: Why do you view those sources as credible?

• What makes a source credible?

  • PROBE: Please tell me more about the features of a credible source.

Level of Interest in Child Care Providers as a Source of Nutrition Information

• In what ways (formats and delivery methods – e.g., hard copy, email, bulletin board, social media) do your child care providers currently provide information to the parents at your center (not necessarily nutrition-specific)?

• How would you feel about receiving nutrition information from your child care providers? (Gauge level of interest.)

• How credible do you feel this information would be? Why?

III. MATERIALS TESTING- FINAL SELECTION FROM NIBBLES FOR HEALTH NEWSLETTERS

53 minutes

A. Review of Nibbles for Health Newsletter Test Materials

Now we’re going to review some materials from the USDA newsletter series for parents/caregivers of young children called Nibbles for Health. Keep in mind that these are not finished. Read the text and notice the design, colors, and how the information is organized. Your thoughts and suggestions will help shape the final versions (content and design).

Moderator distributes test materials to each participant and allows 5-10 minutes for review

[materials to be found in Attachment P: Stimulus: Nibbles for Health Newsletters (English)].

Specific newsletters to be reviewed will include:

• Newsletters at a Glance (Table of Contents)

• Milk Matters

• Child Care: What Will My Child Eat?

• MyPlate for Preschoolers

• Cutting Back on Added Sugars

• Feeding Your Preschooler

GLOBAL REVIEW OF MATERIALS

Now that you’ve had a chance to review the newsletters, let’s discuss.

• Do you understand the purpose of these materials?

  • PROBE: Please tell me who you think these newsletters are meant for? Why?

  • PROBE: What do you think the purpose of these newsletters is?

• What do you think about the information presented in the newsletters?

• PROBE: Did you find any information in the newsletters confusing or could be improved?

• PROBE: Is any of the information contrary to your beliefs? Please explain.

• PROBE: Is there other information or topics that would be helpful for parents and caregivers to have? Please explain.

• Are these Nibbles for Health newsletters easy to read and understand?

  • PROBE: Why or why not?

  • PROBE: How could someone make it easier to use? (e.g., number, format, or organize information differently, color-code by theme, provide space for notes, etc.)

• Of the newsletters you reviewed, which topics are of most interest to you? Why?

• Do you feel the information presented in the Nibbles for Health newsletters is realistic?

• PROBE: How do you feel about the behaviors recommended in the newsletters?

• PROBE: Could you see yourself practicing these behaviors in “real life”? Why or why not?

Now I’d like for you to consider the specific nutritional content you read about within the newsletters and tell me with a show of hands if you feel the suggestions are “useful” or “not useful” for each of the following:

Ask for FIRST item from list below:

• Milk Matters

• Child Care: What Will My Child Eat?

• MyPlate for Preschoolers

• Cutting Back on Added Sugars

• Feeding Your Preschooler

• How many would say the [NAME OF NEWSLETTER HERE] newsletter was “Useful”? [SHOW OF HANDS]

• How many would say that it was “Not useful”? [SHOW OF HANDS]

  • For those of you who said “Useful,” tell me what about the content you read was particularly useful.

  • For those of you who said “Not useful,” tell me why you feel the information provided in that newsletter was not particularly useful to you.

REPEAT THE SERIES OF QUESTIONS ABOVE FOR EACH ADDITONAL ITEM IN THE LIST BELOW.

• Choosing different types of milk

  • Serving whole fruits instead of juice

  • Cooking at home

  • Planning meals for families

  • Using MyPlate and going to referred Web Sites (PROBE: would you visit the Web sites?)

  • Choosing healthy snacks

• How believable and trustworthy do you feel the information presented in the newsletters is? What makes you say that?

Format

• What do you think about the format of the newsletters (front and back)?

  • PROBE: How do you feel about the length? Too short? Too long? Just about right?

• Would you prefer to receive nutrition information from your child care provider in formats other than the hardcopy print form reviewed here?

  • PROBE: What other formats might be helpful? (text messages, social media, parent information sessions, etc.)

• How do you feel about the titles of the newsletters?

  • PROBE: Do they give you an idea of the information covered in the newsletter?

Design

Now I will show you another set of newsletters. This time, you don’t need to read the text. Focus on the graphics, including the colors, illustrations, and how the newsletters look in black and white.

Moderator will distribute the test materials to each participant and allow 1-2 minutes for review

[materials to be found in Attachment Y: Stimulus: Sample Illustrations for use in Nibbles for Health Newsletters].

Specific materials to be reviewed will include:

• Nibbles for Health front cover (in color)

• Learning about Hand Washing (in color)

• Active Play Everyday (in color)

• Healthy Celebrations (in color)

• Whole Grains Make a Difference (in color)

• Portions for Preschoolers (black and white)

• Let’s Cook Together (black and white)

• How appealing are the graphics used in the newsletters?

  • PROBE: Are there any graphics that stand out in particular? Which ones? (Probe around both positive and negative aspects, including cultural relevancy, illustration styles, etc.)

  • Are you able to identify what the food items are?

• Do the graphics make you to want to learn more about the nutrition area presented (or more about child nutrition in general)?

  • PROBE: Do the graphics help you understand the concepts presented? Why or why not?

• Do you relate to the characters in the newsletters? Why or why not? Circle the characters that you relate to or like the most and put an X by the characters that you don’t like or don’t relate to.

• Are the black and white versions appealing?

• What would you change about these materials or what additional recommendations would you make to help us improve either the content or the presentation of these materials?

B. Impact of Test Exposure and Behavioral Intent

• Now that you’ve had a chance to review these materials, did you learn anything new? What in particular?

• PROBE: Was that information helpful? How so?

• Does what you learned here inspire you to change the kind of food you provide for your child? Please explain. (Probe intent both within and outside of child care setting.)

• How likely would you be to share these newsletters with family or friends? Why do you say that?

VI. Wrap up 2 minutes

• Is there anything that was not discussed that you would like to bring up now? If so, what?

Moderator checks with observers for any additional questions to ask.

Thanks so much for your time and for sharing your thoughts.