Application and Adaptation of a Tool for Measuring Skin Carotenoids in Community-Based Settings: A Mixed Methods Study

Abstract

Background: Evaluation of public health nutrition interventions designed to increase fruit and vegetable intake is critical to understanding and improving these projects. Challenges with self-reported dietary intake data and the feasibility of biochemical assessments in community-based settings have led to the use of skin carotenoid measurements as an alternative measure of fruit and vegetable intake.

Objective: Understand how the Veggie Meter (Longevity Link), a tool for measuring skin carotenoids, is applied and adapted for use in community-based settings to measure fruit and vegetable intake.

Design: This mixed-methods study applied a convergent parallel design. Quantitative data were collected via an online survey. Qualitative semistructured interviews were conducted with individuals who had experience collecting Veggie Meter data in community-based settings.

Participants/setting: Fourteen individuals with experience collecting data with the Veggie Meter in a community-based setting enrolled. Fourteen surveys were collected via Qualtrics, and 10 audiorecorded interviews were conducted via Zoom from March through July 2023.

Analysis: Descriptive statistics were calculated for survey results. A constructivist approach was applied to the qualitative interview data.

Results: Fourteen individuals completed the survey, and of those individuals, 10 also completed an interview. Three main themes were identified to describe application and adaptation of the Veggie Meter in community-based settings: balancing protocol adherence with contextual adaptation in Veggie Meter use, implementation and operation of the Veggie Meter in community-based settings, and strategies for maximizing participant engagement with the Veggie Meter.

Conclusions: Use of the Veggie Meter for data collection in community-based settings necessitated adaptation of standard protocols to meet the varied needs of the environments, communities, and participants where evaluation of public health nutrition interventions occurred.

Keywords: Community-based data collection; Dietary assessment methodology; Fruit and vegetable intake; Qualitative research; Skin carotenoid measurement.