Nutrition Program Fidelity Assessment tool: a framework for optimising implementation in military dining facilities.

Area of Science:

• Military nutrition
• Program evaluation
• Public health interventions

Background:

• The Go for Green® (G4G) 2.0 program aims to enhance access and availability of nutritious foods in military dining facilities (DFAC).
• Assessing program fidelity is crucial for ensuring the effectiveness, achievability, and efficiency of health interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop, refine, and assess the usefulness of the G4G 2.0 Program Fidelity Assessment (PFA) tool.
• To evaluate the adherence of DFAC to G4G 2.0 program requirements.

Main Methods:

• Subject matter experts developed and refined a PFA tool based on eight program requirements (PR).
• Critical tasks and benchmarks were identified, and a scoring system was developed.
• Three PFAs were conducted across two DFAC implementing the G4G 2.0 program.

Main Results:

• Site 1 met benchmarks for 8 of 15 sections post-implementation.
• Site 2A (post-implementation) met 12 of 15 benchmarks, while Site 2B (3 months later) met 10 of 15 benchmarks.
• Results indicated key areas needing additional training and resources for optimal nutrient-dense food access.

Conclusions:

• The PFA tool objectively assesses nutrition interventions, informing program fidelity, successes, and improvement opportunities.
• Feedback from the PFA is critical for optimizing access to nutrient-dense foods and assessing the program's potential impact on Service Members' nutritional fitness.