Efficacy of Nutrition Risk Screening With NutriSTEP® in Toddlers and Preschoolers

Good nutrition is necessary for optimal growth and development in young children. Nutrition risk screening can identify those at risk and to refer them for assessment and treatment. The NutriSTEP® (Nutrition Risk Screening for Every Preschooler) questionnaires are 17-item, community-based, parent-administered questionnaires for identifying nutritional risk in toddlers (18-35 months) and preschoolers (3-5 years). Internet versions are available on the Dietitians of Canada website as part of a Nutri-eSTEP online tool. NutriSTEP® is mandated for use in Ontario and New Brunswick and is also used in other provinces. NutriSTEP® has been implemented in Canadian jurisdictions and in research settings. Many health care practitioners, mainly registered dietitians, and policy makers, are asking for evidence that NutriSTEP® makes a difference and this project is proposed to show that nutrition screening with NutriSTEP® with its accompanying nutrition education resources will increase knowledge and change nutrition-related practices by parents of preschoolers. This research will be a randomized control trial with more than 150 parents/caregivers of toddlers and preschoolers. The treatment group will receive screening with the Nutri-eSTEP version of NutriSTEP® and will receive the accompanying nutrition education messages and links to resources. A control group will receive the screening treatment at the end of a 12 week intervention. At the beginning and end of the 12 week period, parents/caregivers will fill out questionnaires on parental nutrition knowledge and nutrition-related behaviour (including attitudes and intentions). This will be the first study of nutrition risk screening with NutriSTEP® to determine if the screening process, along with its accompanying nutrition education messages makes a difference.