USDA's New Diet and Health Knowledge Survey: How Can it be Used for Theory-Based Research?

Abstract

Research studies employing major theories of behavior change, such as the Health Belief Model, Rogers' Model of Diffusion of Innovation, and other theories, have added to our understanding of the relationship of knowledge and attitudes to food-related behavior. Unfortunately, many of the studies that employed these models have used small, local samples, limiting the generalizability of their findings. The new Diet and Health Knowledge Survey (DHKS), conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, provides nationally-collected data on knowledge and attitudes concerning diet and health. Linked to dietary data collected from those individuals as a part of USDA's Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals, the DHKS data can be used to examine relationships between knowledge, attitudes, and food-related behavior, as postulated by behavior change theories, in a large, diverse, national sample of individuals. This article describes the DHKS, discusses its strengths and limitations as a data source for research studies based on major theories of behavior change, and provides some examples of theory-based studies of food-related behavior that could be conducted using DHKS data.