Using visual methods to uncover context

The accurate assessment of physical activity and dietary intake is essential for assessing the relationships between physical activity, dietary intake, and health outcomes. However, the measurement of physical activity and dietary intake among women, particularly minority women, poses unique challenges related to gender, ethnicity, and social context. Measures that are not culturally relevant or sensitive to the experiences, traditions, or beliefs of ethnically diverse women might result in data that are unreliable, or which cannot be interpreted. Visual methods show promise for elucidating concepts that are important to refine established measures for assessing dietary intake and physical activity in diverse ethnic groups. Hispanic women, a largely understudied subgroup that experiences long-term health risks associated with dietary and physical activity behaviors, serves as the focal group for this discussion of the potential for visual methods to develop culturally and contextually relevant and valid approaches to outcome assessment.