Reduce Sodium - SLT

Appendix B2b.

Brief Site Visit Selection
Interview Guide

INTRODUCTION

Thank you for taking the time to talk to me today for the study on “Successful Approaches to Reduce Sodium in School Meals,” and for providing your valuable insight. Again, my name is [name of interviewer]. I’m a researcher from [2M Research Services]. This is [name of note taker], also a researcher from [2M Research Services], and s/he will be taking notes during our conversation to ensure that we accurately capture all of the opinions and insights you provide us.

You had responded to a web survey on [date] about your district’s sodium-reduction efforts. We also sent you a follow-up email on [date] to help you prepare for today’s call. Did you get the email?

[If no: apologize, confirm email address is correct and tell them you will resend right after the call]
[If yes: continue].

We would like to learn more about your SFA’s efforts to meet Target 1 sodium standards for school meals.

Please note that this interview will remain private. There is a small risk of loss of privacy, but the research team has taken many steps to reduce this risk. Your identity and any information attributable to you will not be released to anyone outside of the research team. Neither you nor your SFA will be identified individually in any reports or published materials resulting from this study. With your permission, we would like to record this interview. The recording of your interview will be deleted at the end of the study, after all data have been analyzed.

Do we have your permission to record this interview?

Yes  Great. Thank you. Do you have any questions before we begin?

No  Okay. That is not a problem at all. We would like to ask for your patience, as we will need a little more time to note your responses by hand to ensure we accurately capture your insights. Do you have any questions before we begin?

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is XXXX-XXXX. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 20 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.

I am going to start by asking you some follow-up questions so that we can better understand some of the information you provided us on the web survey that you completed on ________________.

Q1. Your responses show that your district has met Target 1, with average daily sodium levels ranging from 540–640 mg for breakfast and 1230–1420 mg for lunch, depending on the grade levels served. Is that correct?

1 ☐ YES [GO to Q2]

2 ☐ NO [GO to Q1A]

3 ☐ NOT SURE [state: I will read you the average daily sodium levels for each school type.] [READ NUMBERS BY School type] Do these sound like your SFA meets Target 1? [if respondent states ‘yes’, select response option ‘1’. if respondent states ‘no’, select response option ‘2’. if respondent states anything other than ‘yes’ or ‘no’, TERMINATE AND SKIP TO CONCLUSION-2A]

4 ☐ OTHER (SPECIFY)___________________________ [GO to Q2]

Q1A. Can you explain?

1 ☐ ERRORS, ACTUAL SODIUM LEVELS ARE NOW NO LONGER MEETING TARGET 1 [GO to CONCLUSION-2]

2 ☐ ERRORS, IMPROPER SELECTION/MISCALCULATED [GO to CONCLUSION-2]

3 ☐ OTHER (SPECIFY) ___________________________

[IF PRESCREENING WEB SURVEY RESULTS Meet Target 1 but DO NOT MEET TARGET 2, GO TO Q3]

Q2. Your responses also show that your district is close to meeting, is meeting, or is exceeding Target 2, with average daily sodium levels ranging from 430–607 mg for breakfast and 640–1,250 mg for lunch, depending on grades served. Is that correct?

1 ☐ NOT APPLICABLE [GO to Q3]

2 ☐ YES [GO to Q3]

3 ☐ NO [GO to Q2A]

4 ☐ NOT SURE [state: I will read you the average daily sodium levels for each school type.] [READ NUMBERS BY School type] Do these sound like your SFA is close to meeting, meeting, or exceeding Target 2? [if respondent states ‘yes’, select response option ‘2’. if respondent states ‘no’, select response option ‘3’. if respondent states anything other than ‘yes’ or ‘no’, select response option ‘5’.]

5 ☐ OTHER (SPECIFY) ___________________________ [GO to Q3]

Q2A. Can you explain?

1 ☐ ERRORS, ACTUAL SODIUM LEVELS ARE NOW NO LONGER MEETING TARGET 2
2 ☐ ERRORS, IMPROPER SELECTION/MISCALCULATED

3 ☐ Other (Specify)___________________________

Q3. We would like to consider your school district for participation in the next phase of the study. The next phase involves 1-hour individual interviews with you and three other people in your school district. We need help identifying the right people to participate in these interviews. Would you help us select and reach out to those people?

1 ☐ YES

2 ☐ NO [RESPOND WITH PERSUASIVE ANSWERS COVERED IN TRAINING] [IF NO, GO TO CONCLUSION-3]

The people we are seeking to interview include you, as the SFA director, as well as people who are knowledgeable about food operations and the practices used to produce lower sodium school meals. We want to know how these practices are received in the broader community. So, in addition to you, we would also like to interview one of each of the following:

• a school employee at one of your campuses,

• a food supplier, and

• a community stakeholder.

We will talk more about each of these in a minute, and I am going to ask you to think about who in your district could fulfill each of those roles. The school employee, food supplier, and community stakeholder will each be interviewed for approximately 1 hour.

School Administrator

Q4. The first participant we would like your help identifying is a school employee. Can you think of a school administrator or other employee who is knowledgeable about, or has been instrumental in promoting or working with students on the acceptance of, and changes to, nutrition in their school? These individuals may be interested in children, nutrition, education, and/or health. It may be best to think about a campus that is doing well with their sodium targets, and whose strategies or practices you would want to highlight. These individuals could include a principal, assistant principal, nurse, an administrator, a staff member on a local school wellness committee, or teacher, for example. (Note: If a cafeteria staff member is offered, ask if there is someone outside of cafeteria personnel they would recommend). [INTERVIEWER: ACCEPT SCHOOL-LEVEL PRINCIPALS, ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS, or staff; only accept school distriCt-level personnel if school-level recommeNdations are not given; if cafeteria staff member is offered, ask if there is someone outside of cafeteria personnel they would recommend.]

Q4A. Can you provide me with their contact information? [GIVE RESPONDENT OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE CONTACT INFORMATION IF AVAILABLE]

1 ☐ yes [RECORD contact INFORMATION FROM RESPONDENT]

2 ☐ no [2M LOOKUP] Is the school website the best place to find their information? [RECORD INFORMATION FROM RESPONDENT]

3 ☐ NO. NOT RIGHT NOW. [ask respondent if we can send a follow-up email to obtain this information]

4 ☐ NO. REFUSED. [Go to CONCLUSION-3]

Contact Person	School	Contact Info (if available)

Okay, I have [NAME OF INDIVIDUAL], affiliated with [school/school district], at [TELEPHONE NUMBER AND/OR EMAIL ADDRESS]. Is that correct?

Food Supplier

Q5. The next participant we would like your help in identifying is a food supplier. A food supplier is an individual or part of an organization that delivers meals, food, or ingredients to an SFA or school(s) for use in school meals. These individuals could be local manufacturers, distributors, vendors, local farmers, or local food hubs.

Can you think of a food supply company that serves campuses in your district and that plays a key role in supplying lower sodium food or food ingredients? [probe for: Provides value-added materials or efforts? FacilitatES taste testing? Provides SFA with posters or educational/promotional materials?]

Q5A. Can you name a person with a food supplier who would be able to respond to questions about the sodium content in products? [accept sales representatives]

1 ☐ YES

2 ☐ NO [ASK] Can you think of a person I could speak with who could put me in touch with a food supplier? [go to Q5C; in “company” column indicate that this person is a liaison]

Q5B. What are some of the types of foods or food products that this food supplier sells to your SFA? [PROBE for: SUPPLIERS OF PRE-PACKAGED BREAKFASTS, LuNCHES OR SNACKS, MEAT/MEAT ALTERNATES, CHEESE PRODUCTS, DAIRY PRODUCTS, BAKERY ITEMS, FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES, CANNED PRODUCTS, FROZEN PRODUCTS, AND CEREALS]

Q5C. Can you provide me with their contact information? [GIVE RESPONDENT OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE CONTACT INFORMATION IF AVAILABLE]

1 ☐ yes [RECORD contact INFORMATION FROM RESPONDENT]

2 ☐ no [2M LOOKUP] Is the company website the best place to find their information? [RECORD INFORMATION FROM RESPONDENT]

3 ☐ NO. NOT RIGHT NOW. [ask respondent if we can send a follow-up email to obtain this information]

4 ☐ NO. REFUSED. [Go to CONCLUSION-3]

Contact Person	Company	Contact Info (if available)

Okay, I have [NAME OF INDIVIDUAL], affiliated with [company], at [TELEPHONE NUMBER AND/OR EMAIL ADDRESS]. Is that correct?

Community-Based Stakeholder

Q6. The third participant we would like to speak with is a community stakeholder. The community stakeholder is someone who has a strong interest, even enthusiasm, for improving the school food environment and is someone who has been instrumental in efforts to improve the school food environment. These individuals are not employed by the schools, but are aware of, or attuned to, child nutrition. This individual may be a parent, community member, school board member, or a non-school employee member of a school wellness committee.

Can you think of a community stakeholder who may have advocated for lower sodium meals, or improvement in child nutrition in general, on school campuses? This could be a member of the wellness committee that is not employed by the school district

1 ☐ YES

2 ☐ NO [ASK] Can you think of a person I could speak with who could put me in touch with a community stakeholder? [go to q6c; in “type of stakeholder” column, indicate that this person is a liaison]

Q6A. How is that person affiliated with your SFA? ___________________

Q6B. What have they done to support the school food environment or supported your efforts to provide reduced sodium school meals? __________________________

Q6C. Can you provide me with their contact information? [GIVE RESPONDENT OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE CONTACT INFORMATION IF AVAILABLE]

1 ☐ yes [RECORD CONTACT INFORMATION FROM RESPONDENT]

2 ☐ no [2M LOOKUP] Where is the best place to find their information? [RECORD INFORMATION FROM RESPONDENT]

3 ☐ NO. NOT RIGHT NOW. [ask respondent if we can send a follow-up email to obtain this information]

4 ☐ NO. REFUSED. [Go to CONCLUSION-3]

Contact Person	Type of Stakeholder	Contact Info (if available)

Okay, I have [NAME OF INDIVIDUAL], affiliated with [NAME OF ORGANIZATION], at [TELEPHONE NUMBER AND/OR EMAIL ADDRESS]. Is that correct?

[Based on the information provided during the interview, if respondent provided no contact information, go to conclusion-1A and then conclusion-1C. If respondent provided at least some contact information, go to conclusion-1B and then conclusion-1C.]

CONCLUSION-1A [NO CONTACT INFORMATION PROVIDED]

Our next step is to send you an email and obtain contact information for the people you suggested to us. When we contact these people, do you mind if we refer to you by name when reaching out to the individuals you have identified?

1 ☐ YES

2 ☐ NO

CONCLUSION-1B [SOME OR ALL CONTACT INFORMATION PROVIDED]

Thank you for providing us with this contact information. With your permission, we are going to send you a follow-up email to confirm that we have the correct contact information. Our next step is to send you an email and reach out to the people you suggested to us. During this time, we will discuss ways they have contributed to supporting your efforts to provide lower sodium school meals.

Also, do you mind if we refer to you by name when reaching out to the individuals you have identified?

1 ☐ YES

2 ☐ NO

CONCLUSION-1C

Most of the interviews will be conduct by telephone, but for a few of the participating school districts, we would like to conduct the interviews in person. If your SFA is selected for an in-person interview, would you be open to having two of our interviewers conduct the interview with you at your workplace? The interview would still last approximately 1 hour. During our site visit, we will also want to walk through the cafeteria, if possible.

1 ☐ YES

2 ☐ NO

[if interviewee is preselected for in-depth interview by research team, go to in-depth interview invitation phone script, section “INTRODUCTION-3 [IF SPEAKING TO RESPONDENT ON INITIAL CONTACT]”]

After sending an email to [obtain or verify] the contact information of the individuals you recommended, our next contact with you will be to update you on the next phase of the study, which may include an in-depth interview with you. That interview would take place either in person or by phone. We will have more detail about that in the weeks ahead. We appreciate the time you’ve taken to answer our questions. Your input is very valuable. Do you have any questions for us before we end the interview? [RESPOND WITH ANSWERS COVERED IN TRAINING]

CONCLUSION-2

Thank you for your time, but we are seeking SFAs that have already met Sodium Target 1. We appreciate the time you’ve taken to answer our questions. Your input is very valuable. This concludes our interview today. Thank you for speaking with me.

CONCLUSION-2A

Thank you for your time, but we are seeking SFAs that have already met Sodium Target 1. Is there a time when I could call you back that you would be able to verify your current status with sodium Targets?

1. YES [SCHEDULE CALLBACK]

2. NO [READ:

If you can obtain your average daily sodium levels for a five-day school week, please contact us at 1-866-465-7738 (toll free) or by email at [email protected] and we can continue our discussion.]

We appreciate the time you’ve taken to answer our questions. Your input is very valuable. This concludes our interview today. Thank you for speaking with me.

CONCLUSION-3

Thank you for your time. We appreciate the time you’ve taken to answer our questions. Your input is very valuable. This concludes our interview today. Thank you for speaking with me.