Use of a systematic process to improve the utility of a home food environment audit tool

This paper describes a process to reduce the length of a validated home food audit tool without compromising its strong psychometric properties. A team of investigators used secondary data to make consensus decisions about item reduction of the audit tool. The steps included assessing content validity of individual food items within food categories and construct validity of food items and related nutrient intake. The process resulted in a 25% reduction in the number of items included in the tool without compromising its psychometric properties. This work serves as a guide for other researchers wanting to reduce measurement-related participant burden.