Checklist to Capture Food, Physical Activity, and Sedentary Devices in the Home Environment: The Home Inventory Describing Eating and Activity (Home-IDEA2)

Abstract Objective To modify and test a self-report checklist for the home food and activity environment, Home–Inventory Describing Eating and Activity (IDEA2), psychometrically with families of young children. Design A mixed-methods approach: (1) cognitive interviews informed instrument design (content validity), (2) parent and trained independent raters concurrently and independently completed the Home-IDEA2 during home visits (criterion validity); (3) the Home-IDEA2 was compared with a national sample via the Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey (FoodAPS) database (construct validity). Setting Rural communities in Colorado. Participants Families of preschoolers: cognitive interviews (n = 20) and home visits (n = 26). Main Outcome Measures and Analysis Content validity: responses to each question were analyzed using a general inductive approach. Criterion validity: Cohen's kappa (κ) coefficient was calculated for each Home-IDEA2 item. Construct validity: frequencies were calculated to determine the proportion of Home-IDEA2 food items found in FoodAPS households. Results Cognitive interviews identified the need for more food descriptions and the reduction of total items from 154 to 134. Testing resulted in acceptable agreement (κ = 0.6–1.0) for 82 items (58 food, 16 physical activity, and 8 electronics), moderate agreement for 36 (35 food and 1 physical activity; κ = 0.4–0.5), and poor agreement for 16 (15 food and 1 electronics; κ ≤ 0.3). Overall reliability improved from 55% to 65% for Home-IDEA2 items. Comparison of Home-IDEA2 items with FoodAPS demonstrated that 60% of foods found in US homes were covered by the Home-IDEA2. Conclusions and Implications This study resulted in a valid, reliable, and low-burden self-report measure for food, activity, and electronic home environments by low-income, minority parents of preschoolers.