Development, Psychometric Testing, and Reference Values of the Infant Eating Assessment Tool (InfantEAT)

Area of Science:

• Pediatrics
• Infant Nutrition
• Clinical Assessment Tools

Background:

• Problematic infant feeding is prevalent, especially in premature or medically complex infants.
• A universal, reliable feeding assessment tool is crucial for clinical practice and research.
• Existing tools may not cover all feeding methods comprehensively.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop the Infant Eating Assessment Tool (InfantEAT) for evaluating problematic feeding symptoms in infants.
• To ensure the tool is applicable across all feeding methods: breastfeeding, bottle-feeding, and mixed feeding.
• To validate the InfantEAT's psychometric properties and establish normative reference values.

Main Methods:

• Item response theory (IRT) was utilized to refine items from the Neonatal Eating Assessment Tool (NeoEAT) into the InfantEAT.
• The InfantEAT's reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha (α = 0.88).
• Reference values were established using a cohort of 561 healthy, full-term infants, and agreement with NeoEAT was calculated.

Main Results:

• The final InfantEAT consists of 31 items organized into 9 subscales.
• The tool demonstrated acceptable reliability (α = 0.88) and 74% agreement with the NeoEAT.
• The InfantEAT proved more sensitive in identifying problematic feeding and provides reference values for infants aged 0-7 months.

Conclusions:

• The Infant Eating Assessment Tool (InfantEAT) is a reliable and sensitive instrument.
• It effectively evaluates problematic feeding symptoms across diverse feeding methods in infants under seven months.
• The InfantEAT is suitable for both clinical practice and research applications.