(P07-21-26) Development and Evaluation of a Brief Food Quality Screener for Rapid Diet Quality Assessment: A Structured Evaluation

Objectives: To develop and evaluate the Food Quality Screener (FQS), a brief instrument for rapid assessment of overall diet quality aligned with the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Methods: A structured evaluation instrument was used to collect feedback from health professionals regarding dietary alignment, item relevance, clarity, and usability.  The instrument included Likert-scale assessments examining alignment with the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, plain-language clarity and suitability for use in clinical and community settings.  Responses informed revisions to item wording, examples, and scoring to improve health literacy, interpretability, and practical application.

Results: Evaluations from eight health professionals indicated strong alignment of the Food Quality Screener items with priorities of the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, supporting strong face validity.  Participants reported that the items were clear, relevant, and appropriate for rapid dietary screening in clinical and community settings.  Feedback supported the use of the simplified wording and examples to improve usability for a general adult audience.

Conclusions: The revised Food Quality Screener represents a practical tool for rapid assessment of diet quality in clinical and public health settings.  By translating national dietary guidance into a brief, interpretable metric, the FQS supports lifestyle counseling, population screening, research, and implementation in real-world practice to improve diet quality and support prevention of diet-related chronic disease.

Funding Sources: Ball State University