Frequently Asked Questions

General Information

  • CHEWS is being conducted by researchers at the Food Policy Lab at Dalhousie University. The study is being led by principal investigator Dr. Catherine Mah, MD FRCPC PhD, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Promoting Healthy Populations in the School of Health Administration at Dalhousie University.  Co-investigators and partners include researchers at Dalhousie University, Memorial University, and the University of Queensland.

  • There are several potential benefits for participating!

    Personalized nutritional information 

    Through participating in this study, you will receive personalized dietary and nutrition information. You may seek to use this knowledge to support wellness changes at the workplace or in your everyday life outside of work.  

     Giftcard draws 

    As part of the study, you will have the chance to win grocery store giftcards. Every 6 months, you will be entered into a draw to win 1 of 3 $500 giftcards, to a grocery store of your choice (among the options provided by the study team).  

    All participants will get tickets entered in each draw corresponding with the amount of study assessments they have completed. If you have completed all study assessments within the last 6-month study period, you will get 5 times the number of tickets entered, as a thank you for completing your assessments.

    Those participants who participate in the optional interviews will have additional chances to win 1 of 2 $100 giftcards.  

  • This study expects you to do everything that you would do normally at work and throughout your daily routine, with the addition of carefully saving and uploading your receipts during designated weeks if this is not a usual habit. We expect that you will continue to eat and drink as usual, and that you may change your diet and purchasing habits throughout the study as you wish.

    We do not anticipate any harm as a result of participating in this study. However, the following are possible risks from your participation. 

    Psychological risks:

    You may find that providing your personal, sociodemographic, or dietary information in questionnaires and interviews is uncomfortable or challenging. You may be aware of social norms around responses to some of the questions. You do not need to answer any questions you are not comfortable with and can ask questions at any time. Information you share will be kept confidential.

    Social/Economic risks:

    There are no anticipated economic risks as a result of study participation. Participation (or non-participation) in CHEWS will not affect your employment, employment evaluations, or compensation at your employer. 

    Your supervisor or coworkers will not be informed, unless you choose to tell them that you are participating in this study, or through your mutual attendance at an information and recruitment session hosted by CHEWS.

    Breach of Confidentiality:

    The Nova Scotia Health Research Ethics Board specifies that with all research data collection, there is a chance that confidentiality could be compromised. We are taking every precaution we can to reduce this risk, including de-identifying your information, only allowing a limited number of research team members to have access to the collected data, and keeping data in password protected files on a secure server.

  • You can join the study by enrolling in-person, with the help of a study team member at a recruitment event, or by signing up yourself online. In both instances, this will involve you completing a screening survey (to confirm you are able to participate), and then providing your contact information and signing our consent form online, through our online REDCap platform.

    REDCap is a secure research portal hosted on Dalhousie University’s server.

    From there, you will be emailed instructions about completing your assessments. The entire study except for the ASA24 diet recalls will be completed online on the REDCap platform, which you will access through a unique link sent to your email.

    You will be emailed log in information to complete your ASA24 diet recalls on the separate ASA24 online platform.

    But, even though the study is online, the study team is right here to help! We will check in with you and are able to provide personalized support throughout the study.

Participation & Withdrawal

  • No, you do not need to follow any particular diet to participate! We are interested in learning about a wide range of dietary patterns and eating habits. Our only requirement is that you are not currently undergoing medical nutrition therapy under the supervision of a registered dietitian.

    This study does not require you to change anything about your regular behaviours! By sharing information with us about your regular purchasing and eating habits, you help fill a gap in research about workers’ diets!  

  • Yes, the study is voluntary and as much as we are excited you are participating, we understand sometimes it’s not possible. You should feel free to decide whether to participate or not at any time. 

    You can withdraw your participation at any point, and we appreciate you notifying the research team of this decision if possible.

  • Don't worry, you're still part of the study. You'll notice that we've included specific questions in the surveys to track these types of events. 

    If you still have questions, you can contact the CHEWS team at any time. 

  • No worries, we totally get it! We are happy to accommodate your schedule as needed. We will check in with you during the study to remind you of your upcoming assessments, which are scheduled at regular 6 month intervals. If you are away, we can work to adjust the assessments. Please email the study team to let us know.

ASA24 Dietary Assessment Tool

  • In this study, we are using an online tool called the ASA-24 which is a standardized, robust way to collect information on your diet, widely used in nutrition and epidemiology research. It uses a version of a validated technique called the ‘automated multiple pass method’ which helps you remember what you ate and drank in an accurate and comprehensive way, including the context for how those foods fit into your day.

    The survey will guide you, step by step, through recalling everything you ate and drank in the last day (24 hours).

    We are using a Canadian-specific version of the ASA-24 developed by Canadian researchers.

  • You will be emailed by our research team with login credentials to complete your ASA-24 diet surveys.

    The ASA-24 can be completed on a mobile device.

    If you forget your login and password, please email our research team directly.

  • Research has shown that most respondents complete their 24-hour recall in 17 to 34 minutes. The first time you do the recall, typically takes 2 to 3 minutes longer than subsequent recalls.

  • Yes!

    We are using a Canadian-specific version of the ASA-24 developed by Canadian researchers. When you finish your recall, the tool will give you a chance to download your own personalized nutrition report from what you submitted. The report compares your diet with Canada-specific dietary guidance for calorie, food group, and nutrient intake, so you can see how you are doing relative to science-based recommendations.

  • The ASA-24 tool is administered by the US National Cancer Institute. We do not provide the National Cancer Institute (NCI) or the ASA24 system with any personally identifiable data associated with you. Instead, we specify a user ID for each participant and download system-generated usernames and passwords that you use to access the application. The responses you provide are only accessible to our research team and ASA 24 operation team through that ID and password.

    For more information on the ASA24: ASA24 FAQs

Privacy & Confidentiality

  • All information collected during the study will be stored securely on password-protected servers at Dalhousie University. Only authorized members of the research team will have access to identifiable information, and all study data will be de-identified after collection.  

  • No, not unless you choose to tell them!

    Your information will be kept confidential at all times. Study data will be de-identified (meaning all personal identifying information is removed) before analysis, and no personal identifying information (e.g. names) will be published in any study publications (e.g. reports, peer-reviewed journal articles).