This research is part of an ongoing program, Nutrition Screening Tool for Every Preschooler (NutriSTEP®). NutriSTEP® is a valid and reliable 17-item, parent-administered, questionnaire for nutritional risk in preschoolers (3-5 years of age). Due to an expressed need across Canada, the specific objective of this research was to create a draft toddler (18-35 month) NutriSTEP®. Based on results from a comprehensive literature review, focus groups (n=6) with 48 parents of toddlers, and input from 13 pediatric nutrition experts, many questions from the original preschooler NutriSTEP® questionnaire were refined or removed, and novel questions were added. Basic changes included combining separate fruit and vegetable intake questions, and adding breast milk and formula as examples of dairy products. In conclusion, a 19 item Toddler NutriSTEP® was created to reflect the differences in nutritional risk between preschoolers and toddlers. Next steps in the development process include refinement, test-retest reliability and criterion validation. / Canadian Institutes of Health Research

This research represents phase C in the development of Toddler NutriSTEP® (Nutrition Screening Tool for Every Preschooler). NutriSTEP® is a valid and reliable screening tool designed to assess nutritional risk in preschoolers (3-5 years). A draft toddler (18-35 months) version of NutriSTEP® has recently been developed because of an expressed need. Convenience samples of caregivers were recruited across Ontario to assess the test-retest reliability and construct validity of the tool. Test-retest reliability was assessed based on total score and attribute scores using paired sample t-tests and intraclass correlation coefficients; individual questions were assessed using Wilcoxcon signed rank tests and kappa statistics. Construct validity was assessed through comparison of high-risk groups to Toddler NutriSTEP® scores, as well as through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Toddler NutriSTEP® was found to be test-retest reliable and construct valid, and therefore may be used to assess nutritional risk in Canadian toddlers. / Funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research