Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 6, 2025
Concept Development and Use of an Automated Food Intake and Eating Behavior Assessment Method
Published on: February 19, 2021
Development, Psychometric Testing, and Reference Values of the Infant Eating Assessment Tool (InfantEAT)
Britt F Pados1, Rebecca R Hill
1Infant Feeding Care, Wellesley, Massachusetts (Dr Pados); and MGH Institute of Health Professions School of Nursing, Charlestown, Massachusetts (Dr Hill).
Background:
Problematic feeding is common in infancy, particularly in infants with a history of premature birth or medical complexity. A concise, valid, and reliable measure of feeding that can be used across feeding methods is needed for clinical practice and research.
Purpose:
The purpose of this study was to create an assessment tool to evaluate symptoms of problematic feeding in infants that can be used across all feeding methods (breastfeeding, bottle-feeding, and mixed feeding), then test its psychometric properties and establish reference values.
Methods:
Item response theory (IRT) was used to identify the most important items on the Neonatal Eating Assessment Tool (NeoEAT) related to symptoms of problematic feeding in infants (N = 1054) to create the Infant Eating Assessment Tool (InfantEAT). Reliability of the InfantEAT was tested using Cronbach's α and interitem correlations. Reference values of the InfantEAT were determined from a sample of healthy, full-term infants (n = 561). Percent agreement in identifying problematic feeding between the NeoEAT and the InfantEAT was calculated.
Results:
The InfantEAT is comprised of 31 items in 9 subscales. The InfantEAT has evidence of acceptable reliability (α = 0.88). There was 74% agreement between the NeoEAT and the InfantEAT, with the InfantEAT being more sensitive to identifying problematic feeding. References values are presented for infants 0 to 2, 2 to 4, 4 to 6, and 6 to 7 months.
Implications Practice And Research:
The InfantEAT is a reliable and sensitive tool to evaluate symptoms of problematic feeding across feeding methods for infants younger than 7 months in both practice and research.
