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).
Insights
A new tool, the Infant Eating Assessment Tool (InfantEAT), reliably identifies problematic infant feeding across all methods. This sensitive measure aids clinicians and researchers in assessing feeding issues in infants under seven months.
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.
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.
