Obesity and Outreach

Social Workers are constantly working with and for their clients.  In this case, a lot of the times, you may want to consider conducting surveys for clients so that you can gain a better understanding of their physical, mental, and/or social health issues. A survey was conducted in Dallas County, Texas, covering obesity and health disparities in the neighborhoods.

Goal of the Study

The Obesity and Outreach Study's general goal was “to better understand how to build capacity among mothers to reduce health disparities in their neighborhood.”  The study
was designed to help the researchers understand specific behaviors leading to obesity in certain neighborhoods and possibly even to make the mothers in the target population more aware of things they were doing/not doing that were contributing to their families’ obesity.  This was evidenced by the clear-cut questions asked in the survey itself, such as “what are some physical activities that you currently do or would like to do?” and “what types of snacks do you give your kids at home?”  We predict that by raising personal awareness of the above mentioned behaviors these mothers might be inspired to implement healthy changes in their households.  

Ethical Consideration

The totally voluntary survey was designed to protect the identities of the participants. This is demonstrated by the statements “you can choose not to answer any of these questions” and “we will not ask your name, address, phone number, or any other information that could be used to identify you.”  It is our opinion that the researchers did a thorough job in both ensuring that the individual survey results remained anonymous and that the participants had a full understanding that participation was voluntary, whether it be full, partial, or none.

Reliability and Validity

Since this is a one-time anonymous survey with no way to re-assess results over time or even to follow up with participants’ reliability may prove to be difficult.  It might be possible to increase validity using the concept of alternate-forms reliability by administering more than a single form of survey questions, as in changing the wording of the questions and offering more than one version of the survey.

Overall the validity of this survey could definitely be stronger, especially in regards to face validity.  Based on personal experiences with food, specifically related to overeating and making unhealthy food choices, it is very easy to under report how much food one has eaten and especially how much “junk food” is being consumed.  The same could probably be said in regards to physical activity, even more so for busy moms with children.  We may think and even self-report that we are being physically active and getting sufficient exercise via daily life and just trying to keep up with the kids and house when in reality it is not a consistent daily exercise regimen.  The survey itself does not provide much detail on content validity.  The fairly basic nature of the survey’s design does not seem to require expert opinions or literature review.  Instead it is a simple question and answer survey with the desired responses being solely and uniquely those of the participants.  

Survey administration

The survey is focused on mothers, so it should be self-administered and mailed out as it can reach a large number of potential respondents. “Potential respondents can be sent an electronic cover letter either with the initial or reminder questionnaires attached or with a link to an Internet-based questionnaire” (Burns et. al., 2008).  Mothers tend to be busy individuals, whether they work or are stay-at-home participants.  If self-administered or web-based, it allows them to take the survey while on break at work, while their children are napping, or any other open time frame. It also keeps them from being put on the spot when any sensitive information is being approached.

Strengths, Weaknesses, Assets, and Limitations

The wording in the survey is clear. No confusing phrasing, vague language, double negatives, double barreled questions, jargon, or leading questions are involved.  The questions included are easy to understand and answer. The survey is user friendly, as it is brief yet concise. It contains one closed-ended question requiring check marks instead of “yes or no”, and two open-ended questions regarding types of snacks and health necessities. There are no demographic questions which could be considered an issue as it states that this survey was conducted in Dallas County which is a large area containing many neighborhoods of poor class, middle class, and upper class. This survey may need to focus more on the poor to lower middle class neighborhoods as the need for certain types of food and ability to afford a gym membership is a concern.

The greatest asset of the survey is the fact that it is in both English and Spanish.  According to the United States Census Bureau (2009-2013), of those living in Dallas County, Texas, “41 percent spoke a language other than English at home. Of those speaking a language other than English at home, 83 percent spoke Spanish and 17 percent spoke some other language; 48 percent reported that they did not speak English "very well."

The biggest limitation of the survey is that there are not enough questions, so it is hard to get the point of the survey across.  The more information that is collected in a survey helps to conduct a much more efficient outreach program.

By: Whitney Skierski and Brittany Culley

References:

Burns, K. E., Duffett, M., Kho, M. E., Meade, M. O., Adhikari, N. K., Sinuff, T., Cook, D. & ACCADEMY Group. (2008). A guide for the design and conduct of self-administered surveys of clinicians. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 179(3), 245-252.

United States Census Bureau. (2013). Population and Housing Narrative Profile 2009-2013 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. U.S. Department of Commerce. Retrieved from http://thedataweb.rm.census.gov/TheDataWeb_HotReport2/profile/2013/5yr/np01.hrml?SUMLEV=50&county=113&state=48