Qualitative Research Appraisal

Qualitative Research Appraisal

Food choices among low-income households

Lovelace & Rabiee‐Khan’s (2015) article on food choices made by low-income families after the introduction of solid foods highlights the problem of nutritional concern and poor dietary among low-income households. The authors of the article consist of credible personnel with background knowledge on the topic and Institutional back-up to discuss the issue of concern. Lovelace & Rabiee-Khan (2015) are from the Department of Health Visiting Worchester Health and Care NHS Trust, UK, and Birmingham City University’s Faculty of Health, respectively. The article is based on qualitative research conducted in the West Midlands, UK, using interview techniques among 11 women. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the excluded social and environmental factors, which influence the food choices among low-income households. This article provides a critical review of the methodology and conclusions made in the research.

The qualitative research methodology that Lovelace & Rabiee-Khan’s (2015) article used is known as the narrative approach to qualitative research. The method weaves together sequences of events from the perspective of the research subjects who are usually few. The procedure then uses in-depth interviews to capture the broader view of the subject’s responses that provide crucial information key to impacting the research topic. In the article on food choices among low-income households when feeding pre-school children, the authors conducted in-depth interviews on 11 women, who are the research subjects. The method used was aimed at providing a subjective meaning of the individual’s responses to capture content about food choices in low-income houses that can influence future findings and research, especially in an area of research that has received little attention.

The participants in the data included 11 mothers who were engaged in individual interviews to determine the factors that influenced their food choices, especially when feeding young children. The semi-structured interview technique that the research used aimed at dealing with the possibility of bias from interviews who would want to portray themselves in a positive manner (Mihas, 2019). One of the criteria for the families that were involved in the research includes not owning homes, being recipients of income support, and qualifying for healthy start vouchers. An additional and critically important criterion for the interviewee’s mothers was that they had to be mothers of pre-school children who had joined the solid food age group. Additionally, they should not have had siblings who have joined the school-going age as that would impact their diet choices differently. The selection of families who met the stated criteria was made by the Health Visitors (HV).

The main tools used in the interview were questionnaires, which consisted of seven semi-structured questions. The questions mainly seek to acquire information on family food patterns, budgets, and cooking and storage techniques parents used for foods that they fed their pre-school children. Although the interview questions were semi-structured, they were carried out by qualified researchers who recorded the replies involved. One of the most important ethical aspects of the interviews was the issue of respect for autonomy. The researchers dealt with the issue by obtaining approval for the research from the Research Ethics Committee and the Bureau-champ Childress. Other ethical issues that the investigation had to consider include beneficence and non-beneficence, as well as confidentiality. The researcher had to adhere to the moral matters during all state of the study that included recruitment, data collection, and analysis. Some of the precautions that the interviewers took to avoid violating the ethical considerations included inviting the participants through formal letters, which they had to sign the consent to once they agreed. Additionally, the interviewers also ensured they received the permission of the interviewees to record the interviews.

The modified grounded theory was the approach used for the data analysis process in the research. This was following the recording and transcription of the data. Additionally, to ensure that the interviewer was fully immersed in the data that was generated, interviews were conducted by a single researcher. Some of the main factors that emerged from the research analysis included the fact that most parents’ trust in commercial foods and brands influenced their choices of food for their developing children. Fluid intake, which led to the consumption of juices and squash drinks, was also an emerging concern for food choices among parents for their pre-school children (Bansal, Smith & Vaara, 2018). It also emerged that most mothers are confused about what constituted a balanced diet and healthy food. One of the major implications for the research includes the fact that the research interview could be biased due to parents’ responses, which may be biased.

Summary

The research highlighted some of the issues affecting poor nutritional choices among low-income households. Among the problems, the problems that the article identified as the influence of commercials and brands in the food choices that most low-income households parents make. Additionally, there was also the issue of confusion concerning the right decisions for food that constitute a healthy diet. Fluid intake also rose as a significant factor of concern concerning a healthy diet among pre-school children.

References

Bansal, P., Smith, W. K., & Vaara, E. (2018). New ways of seeing through qualitative research.

Lovelace, S., & Rabiee‐Khan, F. (2015). Food choices made by low‐income households when feeding their pre‐school children: a qualitative study. Maternal & child nutrition, 11(4), 870-881.

Mihas, P. (2019). Qualitative data analysis. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education.