Quality assurance of data collection in the multi-site community randomized trial and prevalence survey of the children’s healthy living program

BACKGROUND: Quality assurance plays an important role in research by assuring data integrity, and thus, valid study results. We aim to describe and share the results of the quality assurance process used to guide the data collection process in a multi-site childhood obesity prevalence study and intervention trial across the US Affiliated Pacific Region. METHODS: Quality assurance assessments following a standardized protocol were conducted by one assessor in every participating site. Results were summarized to examine and align the implementation of protocol procedures across diverse settings. RESULTS: Data collection protocols focused on food and physical activity were adhered to closely; however, protocols for handling completed forms and ensuring data security showed more variability. CONCLUSIONS: Quality assurance protocols are common in the clinical literature but are limited in multi-site community-based studies, especially in underserved populations. The reduction in the number of QA problems found in the second as compared to the first data collection periods for the intervention study attest to the value of this assessment. This paper can serve as a reference for similar studies wishing to implement quality assurance protocols of the data collection process to preserve data integrity and enhance the validity of study findings. Trial registration: NIH clinical trial #NCT01881373