Culinary competencies assessment tool in the Spanish adult population: A protocol for development and assessment of validity and reliability

Abstract

Introduction: Culinary competencies encompass a set of factors that integrate knowledge, skills, and behaviors, which form the basis of food literacy. Recent research has shown a positive association between culinary competencies and the nutritional quality of the diet. Interventions aimed at improving culinary competencies have demonstrated positive health outcomes. The objective of this study is to describe the protocol designed for the development and validation of a tool to measure culinary competencies in Spanish adults and to assess their impact on the nutritional quality of their diets. Methodology: This protocol includes six phases: (1) First phase: a scoping review will be conducted to explore key concepts and definitions related to culinary competencies, and existing items for the initial questionnaire development will be identified; (2) Second phase: an initial set of items will be generated, adapted to the Spanish context, in collaboration with a panel of experts, including culinary professionals, culinary technique experts, and dietitians-nutritionists; (3) Third phase: the expert committee will evaluate the content validity using the Content Validity Index (CVI) to assess the relevance of the items; (4) Fourth phase: a pilot study will be conducted with 30 participants from the target population to assess cognitive validity, ensuring the items are comprehensible and relevant; (5) Fifth phase: the first version of the tool will be implemented in a larger sample of the target population, and reliability will be assessed through internal consistency (Cronbach’s Alpha) and test-retest analyses; a factorial analysis and Rasch analysis will be performed to validate the construct structure; (6) Sixth phase: criterion validity will be evaluated by comparing the results of the questionnaire with other previously validated tools identified in the scoping review. Statistical analysis will be conducted using SPSS Statistics 20 for the data collected throughout all study phases. Discussions and expected results: The design, development, and validation of a culinary competencies questionnaire for the Spanish population will provide the scientific community with a new standardized measurement tool for diet-health studies.